Manti Te'o rebounded with a real, live woman after he believed his cyber girlfriend had died, TMZ [5] reports.

The timing of the relationship -- so soon after the supposed death of his online girlfriend -- will no doubt fuel speculation that Te'o may have known she wasn't real.

Also read: Manti Te'o's 'Catfish' Story: How the Media Bought It Hook, Line and Sinker [6]

Many in the news media initially swallowed whole the Notre Dame linebacker's story of transcending the dual deaths of his grandmother and girlfriend to help win a key game against Michigan State.

But on Wednesday, Deadspin reported that Lennay Marie Kekua was a fabrication, and that a widely circulated photo of her actually belonged to a California woman.

Te'o told media outlets in September that Kekua had died of leukemia.

TMZ, citing unnamed sources, said Te'o and Alexandra del Pilar, a student at St. Mary's College near South Bend, dated for two months after meeting Nov. 10, but recently parted ways.

Also read: Manti Te'o's 'Catfish' Story: How the Media Bought It Hook, Line and Sinker [6]

On Nov. 16, Alexandra del Pilar tweeted a photo of flower leis she said Te'o had given her.

Photos published by TMZ [5] show the Notre Dame linebacker sharing Santa Claus's lap with a woman the site identified as del Pilar.

A spokesman for the University of Notre Dame declined to comment.