What to text when she says her friends think you sound like a catfish

The word catfish is doing less work than it seems. Her friends probably said something about how smooth or polished you sound, or how the photos look like they were taken for a magazine. That's a comment about tone and presentation, not a claim about who you are. Look at what she chose to repeat. If she says it lightly and then asks a question, she's giving you room. If she says it flatly and goes short, the doubt is heavier and she's watching how you handle it.

Check what you've actually said in the chat so far. If your messages have been very polished, with perfect punctuation and long, carefully built jokes, then the friends are reacting to a real gap between that and how people normally text. If your replies have been ordinary, the doubt is more likely coming from someone protective of her, and you need to show that you're an ordinary person she can get to know over time.

Her message has a specific doubt in it, and your first job is to respond to that before anything else. If she asks why you sound so polished, answer that. If she asks where a photo was taken, answer that. Don't pivot to asking what her friends are like or what she thinks of you, because that reads as steering away from the question.

When you explain, keep it short and concrete. Say what you do, where you live, and why your writing might sound sharper than usual if that's true. Maybe you write a lot at work, or you rewrite messages before sending them. Give her one thing she can easily check, like a shared mutual or a place she can look up. Then stop. Let her take the next step. Piling on evidence makes you look worried, and that makes her more worried.

Timing counts as much as the words here. If she raises the catfish comment and you reply within a few minutes, it looks eager, like you were waiting for a chance to reassure her. If you reply the next morning with something thoughtful, it looks like you took the question seriously. Somewhere between a few hours and a day is usually right, depending on how fast the conversation has been moving.

If she doesn't answer after you reply, don't send a second message explaining yourself again. One clear reply is enough. Wait a few days. If she comes back friendly, pick up where you left off. If she stays quiet for more than a week, or replies with something short and closed, accept it. Trying to win back someone who has already decided the doubt is real almost always makes things worse, and letting it go is the one thing a catfish would never do.