For most couples, when the arguments become a major problem, there are two options – break up or try counselling. For this pair, they found an unusual way to save their relationship
Grace Carter and her boyfriend Lucas Martin were constantly arguing. Even a simple disagreement over whose turn it was to book a restaurant spiralled out of control.
“It was stupid,” Grace says. After regularly venting to her friends – she felt embarrassed. “I didn’t want to be that person constantly moaning about their boyfriend.” she admits. So she decided to take matters into her own hands, or to be specific, into the hands of artificial intelligence.
“I’d already been using ChatGPT for work bits and thought, I wonder if it could help me make sense of this too.” That moment changed everything. Grace went into her room and started asking the AI tool for advice and reassurance.
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But it didn’t always feel comforting for Grace. “It felt a bit mad at first, like confessing to a robot, but it was weirdly reassuring. I calmed down and we soon made up,” she says.
The situation quickly turned into a habit. Now, Grace, 34, uses ChatGPT, as a vital tool and is her go-to support system for navigating everything from petty rows to emotional crossroads during their two-year relationship.
One of their arguments was about whether it was ok to check each other’s phones. Lucas thought it was casual, but to Grace, it crossed a line. Rather than allowing the argument to escalate like usual, she turned to the AI to find out how couples typically set privacy boundaries.
It confirmed with her it wasn’t just about snooping – instead, it framed it as “this is about respect, not secrecy.” This helped them talk it through calmly and understand each other’s perspective.
“It’s not so much telling me what to do,” Grace says, “It’s more about helping me word things better, understand his point of view, or suggest gentle ways to break a tense mood.
“It gives you ideas without taking sides, which honestly, is sometimes better than ringing up a mate who’ll just tell you ‘you’re right’.”
While the AI tool now plays a crucial role in their relationship, Lucas wasn’t sold on it at first. He burst out laughing when he found out, calling ChatGPT her ‘magic robot therapist’.
But now? He’s on board and is even the one to encourage Grace for the AI input. Sometimes he says, “Go ask your robot what we should do!” For Lucas, he likes that she’s trying to find better ways to speak to him and not just stew in silence.
Grace uses ChatGPT on her phone, sometimes multiple times a week. “I usually type things like, ‘How to talk to my boyfriend about feeling unappreciated without starting a row’, or ‘ways to rebuild trust after a silly argument’. The more specific I am, the better the advice.”
She says the AI’s neutrality is part of its power, ‘Friends mean well but they’ll often side with you even if you’re a bit in the wrong’. ChatGPT doesn’t have an agenda.
“It calms me down and gives me a second to think before reacting. It’s like having a wise, patient friend who never gets tired of hearing about the same fight for the third time”, she explains.
While she’s open to traditional support if ever needed, Grace says AI does the trick – for now. “ChatGPT is brilliant for day-to-day stuff, but I do think if you’re carrying deeper issues, you need that human touch too,” she adds.
And would she recommend it? Absolutely. “It’s like a little pressure valve when you need to get your emotions out but don’t want to make things worse. Even if you don’t follow the advice word for word, just typing it all out helps you untangle your own feelings,” the 34 year old says.
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