Former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o has admitted that he knew about the hoax pulled on him by his supposed girlfriend.

Te'o apparently became aware in early December that Lennay Kekua hadn't died this past fall, but that he kept that information to himself for the sake of his team, which was preparing to play in the national championship game.

NOW...TMZ reports Manti Te'o quietly began dating an actual living, breathing  female human being ... shortly after he learned "Lennay Kekua" had died from  cancer. Manti met Alexandra del  Pilar the weekend of November 10 when Notre Dame played Boston  College. Alexandra, 21, is a student at St. Mary's College in Indiana --  which is close to Notre Dame. We're told Alexandra and Manti dated for  nearly 2 months, but broke up recently.