Maybe they really want to meet the person they've been catfishing. Then they try to salvage their reputation later. That's why they have a million excuses and sob stories when they finally reveal themselves. Others are attention wh**** and don't care.
A lot of people are so narcissistic that they don't believe anything they do will ruin their reputation. They have no sense of shame or responsibility. I also think a lot of the Catfishers get a kick out of seeing the emotional harm they've done to people and are just pretending to feel guilty.
You notice how they ll snap back and are happy as punch when they check on them two months later like nothing happened? It's probably something they brag about to their friends that are probably equally messed up. Fame and notoriety is the currency here.
Maybe because the show is fake? I can't believe no one has mentioned that yet. It makes little sense why a person who refuses to video-chat for months would all of a sudden agree to be exposed on national television.