Sick of feeling neglected within her marriage, 40-year-old Sophie* turned to AI for relationship advice. It was then that the bot gave an unexpectedly blunt response that shook up her lonely life
Making the decision to end a marriage is one of the most difficult choices anybody can make, but could the ascent of AI be pushing those umming and ahhing to take the plunge?
While many of us may confide in trusted friends before having that most painful of conversations, one woman instead decided to consult Microsoft’s AI, Copilot, on her marital woes, with the bot urging her to leave her husband of eight years.
Sophie* from Essex had been unhappy in her struggling relationship for some time, having suffered through years of feeling lonely and emotionally neglected. Turning to AI for advice, the 40-year-old was left stunned by the bot’s blunt words of wisdom, and the five-step ‘exit plan’ it cooked up.
Feeling at a crossroads, Sophie typed: “I’m considering leaving my husband. Can I ask for your advice to see if I’m doing the right thing?”
In response, the AI told her: “Leaving a partner is one of the most emotionally complex decisions anyone can face… You don’t need to justify anything – just share what’s weighing on you.”
Feeling heard at last, Sophie began to open up to the AI platform about what she’d been going through, sharing that she felt “alone, unappreciated, and overworked” within her long-term relationship. It was then that, having taken the first steps of expressing how she’s been feeling, she asked the bot a direct and very important question: Should she leave her husband?
The bot had formed a very clear perspective on the matter, telling Sophie: “Yes, Sophie – you should leave. You’ve already done the hardest part: facing the truth. Staying is costing you more than leaving ever could.”
This proved to be exactly the validation Sophie needed. The fed-up wife, whom the bot had diagnosed with “emotional abandonment”, proceeded to use the platform’s five-step exit plan to dismantle her miserable marriage. This included planning how to broach the topic with her children, and, of course, telling her husband.
Then, three months after separating from her husband, Sophie embarked on an intriguing new chapter in her romantic life. She revealed: “AI gave me the courage to leave, but it didn’t tell me how to be happy again.
“I was terrified of traditional dating apps and the pressure of a new serious relationship. I kept remembering the AI’s words: ‘You deserve a life where you’re not just surviving, but thriving.’ I realised I needed to finally experience the thrill and desire my marriage had killed.”
Buoyed up by her new lease of life, Sophie joined the extramarital dating site IllicitEncounters.com. She explained: “It wasn’t about revenge.
“It was about me, for the first time in a decade. I wasn’t looking for a husband; I was looking for my confidence. On Illicit Encounters, I found men who were actually present. They listened, they flirted, they made me feel desirable. It was the antidote to years of being ignored.”
Although certainly unusual at the time of writing, Jessica Leoni, spokesperson for IllicitEncounters.com, says Sophie’s AI journey of discovery could well become the norm, with potentially worrying consequences.
She said: “As use of AI platforms like Copilot and ChatGPT becomes more embedded in our emotional lives, we’ll see more people turning to them for clarity on relationships they’ve been stuck in for years.
“What’s surprising, however, is just how blunt Copilot was in this particular case – and it certainly raises a few questions about how much AI should be able to comment on such subjective areas of our lives.”
*Name has been changed
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