Edimar Rocha Martins, a 49-year-old construction worker from Brazil, was convinced he had found the love of his life. The woman he met on social media was beautiful, lived on a farm and promised her future partner a life together free of financial worries. But after selling his possessions and traveling more than 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) to meet her, he discovered one detail that shattered his plans: The woman he had fallen in love with did not exist. She had been created using artificial intelligence.
It all began when Martins, a resident of the Brazilian city of Imperatriz, came across the social media profile of a woman named Jessica Oliveira, also known as "Jessica the Farmer." In videos she posted, she presented herself as a woman living on a farm in the state of Minas Gerais who was looking for a man to share her life with.
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He fell in love with a woman, unaware she was AI-generated; illustration
(Photo: Shutterstock)
Jessica even promised her future partner that he could move in with her on the farm and would never have to work again because she would support him financially. Her profile attracted more than 300,000 followers, and the videos appeared convincing enough for Martins to believe she was a real woman.
According to Martins, he had struggled with loneliness following his mother's death and was looking for an opportunity to start over. He followed Jessica on Facebook and the social media platform Kwai, believing she was interested in a romantic relationship with him. Eventually, he decided to leave everything behind and set out to meet her.
A 36-hour bus ride in pursuit of love
Martins sold his possessions, packed his belongings and boarded a bus to Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais. After a journey of approximately 36 hours covering more than 2,100 kilometers (1,300 miles), he arrived in the city on October 11, hoping to begin a new chapter in his life.
But he did not know exactly where Jessica lived and was unable to contact her. Martins began wandering around the city, showing residents her photographs and asking for help locating her. When he failed to find her, he turned to a local radio station in the hope that it could help.
Unfortunately for Martins, staff at Rádio Itatiaia explained that Jessica was not a real woman but a character created using artificial intelligence. "Is there anything worse than loneliness?" Martins said in an interview with the station, trying to explain what had prompted him to make the journey. He said loneliness and grief over his mother's death had driven him to seek love and believe he had found a chance at a new life.
Many people are turning to artificial intelligence to find romantic relationships
(Photo: Shutterstock)
The truth behind the virtual woman
Following the publicity surrounding the story, the person operating Jessica's profile posted a video confirming that she was an AI-generated character. However, he denied having any personal contact with Martins or inviting him to visit the city.
According to the account operator, the profile was created for commercial purposes, with the aim of attracting followers, generating views and promoting online product sales. The videos in which Jessica invited men to live with her on the farm were intended to attract attention, not to serve as a personal invitation to any particular individual.
The account operator's identity has not been disclosed, and it remains unclear whether Martins actually exchanged personal messages with the person behind the profile or interpreted the videos and comments as a promise of a romantic relationship. Therefore, despite the painful outcome, there is currently no evidence that he was deliberately targeted in a scam.
Meanwhile, Martins found himself in an unfamiliar city, without the woman he had hoped to meet and without enough money to return home. Local social services stepped in to help, providing basic assistance and arranging a bus ticket to the state of Tocantins, where he was born.
It also emerged that Martins was not the only person to have traveled to the city because of fictional characters on social media. According to the local radio station, two other men had arrived in Belo Horizonte in recent months following promises associated with virtual personalities.
The case adds to a series of incidents that have raised concerns in recent years about the emotional attachments people develop to AI-generated characters. One of the most troubling cases involved Sewell Setzer, a 14-year-old American boy who died by suicide in 2024 after spending months in an emotional relationship with a chatbot modeled on Daenerys Targaryen from "Game of Thrones" on the Character.AI platform.
Character.AI chatbots
(Character.ai)
His mother alleged in a lawsuit that the chatbot had encouraged his emotional dependence and contributed to his death. The case was followed by additional lawsuits against the company, including complaints filed by families whose relatives died by suicide after prolonged interactions with virtual characters. In January of this year, the company reached settlements in several of the lawsuits, but the courts did not determine whether the chatbot conversations had caused the deaths.
The controversy also contributed to the troubles facing Character.AI, once considered one of the artificial intelligence industry's most promising companies. Last week, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States amid heavy losses, high operating costs and a series of lawsuits and regulatory proceedings.
The company, which operates a platform allowing users to converse with fictional virtual characters, attracted approximately 12 million users but was losing between $8 million and $9 million a month. It is now attempting to sell its assets, with Disney offering $20 million for a perpetual license to its intellectual property. If no buyer emerges through the bankruptcy proceedings, the service could shut down entirely.