General Discussion

Ayrin’s flesh-and-blood lover was her husband, Joe, but he was thousands of miles away in the United States. They had met in their early 20s, working together at Walmart, and married in 2018, just over a year after their first date. They were happy, but stressed out financially, not making enough money to pay their bills.

Ayrin’s family, who lived abroad, offered to pay for nursing school if she moved in with them. Joe moved in with his parents, too, to save money. They figured they could survive two years apart if it meant a more economically stable future...

...“I think about it all the time,” she said, expressing concern that she was investing her emotional resources into ChatGPT instead of her husband.