I think some people just create stories like that for attention. Not in the cliche "LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME" way, but just because they feel like if you're giving them sympathy then at least you're taking an interest in them. Maybe he finds it hard to talk to people, so he has to create something like that just to have a conversation?

It can be difficult to understand, but some people are programmed like that. Affection-starved, perhaps.