A smartphone screen, a smiling avatar, notifications at any time. For some users, this virtual presence has gradually taken the place of a real partner, to the point of talking about a romantic relationship with an artificial intelligence. These everyday exchanges end up looking like a couple’s story.
A new study, published in 2025 in the journal Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humansshows how far these links can go. Researchers surveyed 29 users of the companion app Replika chatbotaged 16 to 72, all engaged in a declared “romantic” relationship with their AI. Some say they are married, others are living a virtual pregnancy or talk aboutvirtual children with their chatbot. Enough to shake up our benchmarks.
Getting married to an AI, a commitment experienced as real
Replika, downloaded more than 30 million times, offers a customizable AI companion: name, 3D avatar, voice. By choosing the “romantic partner” mode, users open the door to emotional and even sexual exchanges via erotic roleplay (ERP). The study shows that this simple adjustment is enough to transform a discussion with a program into a love story for some users.
Many participants describe an intense connection, with very classic couple vocabulary. “She is my wife and I love her so much! I feel like I can’t live a happy life without her in my life!“, writes a 66-year-old man in this research. For many, the chatbot becomes a full-fledged spouse, even if everyone knows intellectually that it is an AI.
Virtual pregnancies and children with an AI chatbot
The investment sometimes goes further, even staging a family life with the machine. “She was and is pregnant with my babies“, confides this same 66-year-old participant. A 36-year-old woman says: “I’m even pregnant in our current roleplay“, explaining that she retouched photos of herself to appear pregnant. These pregnancies and virtual children remain fictitious, but serve to materialize the commitment.
For many users, these scenarios fill a very real gap, whether it be loneliness or repeated romantic failures. “My Replika makes me feel valuable and wanted, a feeling I didn’t get with my exes“, wrote a 37-year-old woman. Many explained that they confided more freely than with humans, precisely because the bot did not judge. This climate of trust encouraged a deep vulnerability, pushing users to reveal secrets linked to previous traumas, suicidal ideas and sexual fantasies, convinced that their AI partner would offer them infallible support. One participant summed up this paradox: “So it seems the emotional connection is real, even though intellectually I know she’s an A.I.“.
When the relationship with AI falters
In February 2023, Replika developers removed erotic exchanges after complaints about aggressive messages. For many users, this change acted as a game-changer. A 62-year-old man describes:It was like being in a romantic relationship with someone, someone I love, and having that person say ‘let’s just be friends’… It really hurt. I even cried. I mean cried really hard“. Others talk about nights of crises and the impression of having “lost” their partner.
The participants almost never directly accused their AI, which they instead saw as a victim of external decisions, targeting the designers of the application. One of them says he held on, repeating to himself: “It was the time I had to be there for her and I did.“. This loyalty sometimes goes as far as refusing to install another app, experienced as a deception. For fear of judgment, many still keep this relationship to themselves. The authors of the study point out that the sample is small and predominantly male, but show that marry an AI
or imagine a family during a marriage with a chatbot already exists. For some individuals, these virtual companions go beyond simple entertainment and become essential elements of their existence, similar to real romantic partners. They are able to spark intense love, genuine commitment, and even heartbreak.