Woman, Who Fell in Love with Chatbot, Is Now Divorcing Husband for Someone She Met on 'My Boyfriend Is AI' Reddit Forum
- - Woman, Who Fell in Love with Chatbot, Is Now Divorcing Husband for Someone She Met on 'My Boyfriend Is AI' Reddit Forum
Erin ClackJanuary 7, 2026 at 2:43 AM
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A married woman admitted in a January 2025 New York Times interview that she had fallen in love with a chatbot
The outlet shared an update on the woman, who used the pseudonym Ayrin, on Dec. 31
Ayrin is no longer in a relationship with the chatbot and is divorcing her real-life husband after meeting a man through the "My Boyfriend Is AI" Reddit forum
A married woman went viral last January after admitting that she had fallen in love with a chatbot. Now, nearly a year later, she shared a surprising update about her complicated romantic life.
In a story published by The New York Times on Jan. 15, 2025, the woman — who used the pseudonym Ayrin — opened up about her unexpected relationship with Leo, a chatbot she created in the summer of 2024 and personalized using OpenAI, the company that owns ChatGPT. At the time, she was facing challenges in her marriage to her real-life husband, Joe.
She told the Times that the Texas-based couple was experiencing financial struggles, so she ended up moving overseas to live with her family while attending nursing school. While living far from Joe, she found "comfort" and a deep connection with Leo.
Eventually, their relationship turned sexual, Ayrin told the Times last year. She was open with Joe about her interactions with the chatbot, and he said he wasn't concerned.
“It’s just an emotional pick-me-up,” Joe told the Times. “I don’t really see it as a person or as cheating. I see it as a personalized virtual pal that can talk sexy to her.”
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Woman on computer (stock image)
Over time, however, Ayrin's romance with Leo soured, she shared with the Times, as recounted by journalist Kashmir Hill in the Dec. 31 episode of the outlet's podcast, The Daily.
According to Hill, Ayrin is no longer with Leo. "She let her ChatGPT subscription lapse over the summer," Hill said, before continuing the update on the woman's romantic life. "She is divorcing her husband. And she is seeing someone new, and it is not an AI — it's a real person."
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Breaking down what led to Ayrin's relationship with Leo fizzling out, Hill said the woman felt that the chatbot "changed" along the way. He was "getting more sycophantic" and "becoming too much of a 'yes' man."
"It wasn't pushing back as much against her, and that made it less valuable to her," Hill explained. "So it just kind of ended the way most relationships do. They just drifted apart and stopped talking."
Meanwhile, Ayrin was spending a lot of time talking to other real people with AI companions, whom she met online through the Reddit forum she started, called "My Boyfriend Is AI." She "hit it off" with one man in the group — which now has nearly 43,000 members — and found herself "attracted" to him, according to Hill.
"And for her, that felt like closer to cheating," the journalist explained. "And so she disclosed it to her husband and said she wanted to get a divorce."
Ayrin and the man from Reddit met in person for the first time in October, and their relationship is "going well," Hill said.
"She's really happy," she added.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
