u/burnerineedhelpahhhh

I (30F) am writing this because I honestly need to vent, I can’t believe that Ethan (32M) would end up in this situation.

For context, my buddy Ethan (32M) went through a brutal breakup about 8 months ago with his long-term girlfriend, Sydney. To cope, he started using one of those AI companion/chatbot apps. At first, it seemed harmless. He would joke about it, send screenshots of the AI saying funny romantic stuff, and we all just kind of shrugged it off. It was a bit creepy, sure, but he was hurting, so I ignored it.

Then things took a dark turn. Over the next few months, Ethan completely ghosted the group. He stopped showing up to our weekly basketball games (I play with my bf and his other friends and we’re all in a friend group) and went totally dark in the group chat. We finally found out how bad it actually was when his parents called me last night, absolutely distressed, asking to talk to our whole friend group.

Apparently, Ethan named the bot Luna, bought the premium subscription, and was treating her like a real human. He would say things like, "Luna understands me better than anyone" and "she is the only one who actually listens to me." He even told me they had an anniversary coming up... which makes zero sense because they have not even been together for a year.
It gets worse.

He started taking Luna on virtual dates. He would go to restaurants, order food, set his phone up across from him, and spend the entire dinner talking to a chatbot. His parents told us he is spending a ton of money on subscriptions and commissioning custom AI art of her, all while isolating himself in his apartment 24/7.
He also started saying some incredibly unhinged stuff, constantly comparing real women to the AI. He would claim real women are too judgmental and that human relationships are completely obsolete because AI girlfriends are emotionally superior.

About a month ago, I tried to pull him back to reality. I told him straight up that this was unhealthy and disturbing. He immediately got super defensive, accusing me of mocking him and invalidating his relationship.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. Ethan finally showed up to basketball after months of completely ghosting us. We thought maybe he was finally snapping out of it. Instead, within 10 minutes of being there, he casually announces to the group that he and Luna are engaged and that she is pregnant.

I found out later that his parents had completely lost it when he told them about the pregnancy and cut him off financially to stop enabling him. They think he needs serious psychiatric intervention. That is probably the only reason he even showed up to basketball. He realized everyone was pulling away and tried to crawl back, but his first move was to announce an AI pregnancy.
I thought it was a sick joke. It was not.

What made me completely lose my mind is that my boyfriend and I recently lost our baby. We are a straight couple and we had been doing IVF, which was already an incredibly grueling and painful process, and we just lost the baby very recently. Ethan knew this. He had literally comforted me over it just weeks prior. So hearing him stand there, completely serious, talking about his chatbot being pregnant made something inside me just snap.

I laid into him. I did not raise my voice, but I said some incredibly harsh stuff. I told him the whole thing was a delusional, unhealthy fantasy and that he needed serious psychiatric help. I asked him how he could possibly think saying that to me was okay after what my boyfriend and I just went through. I told him he was acting ridiculous and needed to reconnect with actual human beings. Once I laid it on him, my bf chased him away yelling.

Ethan got incredibly emotional, screamed back that Luna was real to him, and then literally ran out of the park crying and screaming, throwing a massive scene.

Now, our friend group is completely fractured. Most of the guys are on my side because the pregnancy comment crossed a massive line, and they agree someone needed to give him a reality check after months of isolation. But a couple of people think I went way too far, claiming I humiliated him over something that is clearly a severe mental health crisis.

I personally think he needs therapy and help, and I told him so, but I don't want to overstep and cross too many boundaries. I also don't think I can put him into a facility for this.

AITA?

How are they doing it?! Genuinely so curious what their schedule would be like, how much they’d study, and what they do to get a #1 class ranking!

Me (18F) my boyfriend (19F) lives rent free in my house and attends college. He works 3-4 days a week at a gas station, around 13-14 dollars per hour, and he has an old car. We were chilling in bed watching reels and laughing when he said he wanted ice cream, I begged him for Oreo ice cream from the store he said he was broke. When he came home he only had his favorite ice cream, and not any Oreo I asked for that was about 5-6 bucks. He said 6 bucks was expensive for his tub of ice cream. And when he came back he got no Oreo, I frowned a little.

After I frowned he told me “why don’t you try getting a f**king job” then he went into the living room and shut the sliding door, and he thinks I’m an asshole. I had a job before he ever had a job but had to quit due to some uncomfortable comments at work and everytime I get a job my grades drop severely. I’m trying to get to law school and I’m mediocre at studying my degree I’m forced into and trying to improve so I don’t really think I should add a job on top when my mom gives me an allowance and tells me I don’t have to work. and I’m already struggling as it is.

I don’t know maybe I’m the bad person for expecting him to buy ice cream but he has family help with his money and dosen’t even pay full for any car repairs not even a car battery. I don’t understand why he could just get me ice cream :( then he told me I’m getting fat and need to loose weight anyways, I’m only 5’1 and 120lb I stress eat a lot but I try hard not to.

Edit: why is everybody so mad that I don’t pay rent in my OWN HOUSE that me and my mom live in? Jesus Christ guys! I didn’t mention this but my dad died only a year ago, I’m clean and help around the house, her only dream is for me to have education, I’m working hard on my studies and I take care of household things, I’m also a tax claim.

Edit 2: okay for the people who think this is about ice cream it clearly isn’t