Laila Thompson-Wainer, who is a former fiancée of Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Tez Johnson, claims he cheated on her the day he proposed, texting his ex in the morning of the proposal and again after he got engaged.
Thompson-Wainer shared a video on social media for the proposal’s anniversary, detailing what she claims is a “traumatizing” discovery she made after the proposal.
“A year ago today, I got engaged, and later learned he cheated on me the same day he proposed,” Thompson-Wainer wrote in the video. “This morning, I woke up not sad about him. There’s no reason I’d ever want to be around someone like that, but I’m more overwhelmed by the grief of when I believed people were inherently good.”
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have not made any public comments about the allegations against Johnson, nor has he responded to Thompson-Wainer’s claims as of Thursday.
‘One of the Happiest Days of My Life’
Thompson-Wainer shared her side of the story about what happened when she got engaged to Johnson.
She claims they lived in Orange County, California, where Johnson was training for football.
Thompson-Wainer shared that she woke up knowing something special would happen because of the excited jitters she felt, which were reminiscent of her childhood dreams of having a big romantic moment with a “beautiful setting, music, flowers.”
She shared that on the day of the proposal, she went to a reptile zoo with Johnson’s hairstylist and her son, then thought it was a photo shoot at a beautiful hilltop location, but what really happened was that Johnson proposed to her at a floral arrangement with music playing.
“He gets down on one knee, he slides the ring on my finger,” she says. “My cheeks hurt from smiling. I was so happy.”
Thompson-Wainer and Johnson then went to the beach to take pictures and had an engagement dinner with sushi. They then went home.
Alleged Messages to Ex-Girlfriend
Thompson-Wainer later found out that Johnson was sending messages to his ex-girlfriend on the day of the proposal and the night after the engagement dinner.
“Knowing what I know now, this was his timeline for the day,” Thompson-Wainer says. “He wakes up and texts his ex-girlfriend. Then he proposes. Then we get home from our engagement dinner, and then he texts her.”
Thompson-Wainer did not disclose the messages but called them “inappropriate.” The messages are hard for Thompson-Wainer to understand.
“You cheat before and after you propose, the morning of and the night,” Thompson-Wainer says. “You know what? That’s something I will never understand.”
Johnson’s timeline and the details of the breakup are not verified.
Turning Pain into Platform
In the video, Thompson-Wainer says she first spoke out about her experience in May and got positive reactions from women who have been through something similar to what she experienced with Johnson.
“If I can make one woman feel seen, heard, or understood, help in a healing journey, then I’ve done what I set out to do,” Thompson-Wainer says.
Thompson-Wainer says she will continue to speak about her experience despite being advised by some to “get over it.”
“If I had to deal with a bad fiancé, I would use what I learned about a bad man to spark conversations about healing and build a community of women,” she says.
Thompson-Wainer ends the video hoping her story will help others feel less alone.
@ltdubbz A year ago today I got engaged, and well skip to 1:30 for the story time lol This is about healing, truth, and using my experience to make other women feel seen. I love having these kinds of conversations and I hope I can continue to use this platform to create a safe community! #cheater #proposal #engagement #womanhood #men
♬ original sound – Laila 💌
Neither Johnson nor the Buccaneers reps have returned requests for comment.
