Sometimes when we see a couple on the street, the first thing that comes to our minds is: “How did these two get together?” Whether it's because of the age difference, physical appearance, or if their personalities just don't match, we can't help but notice. The couples on the list we've compiled would definitely get your attention if you saw them together: these are the relationships where one partner is a human being, and the other is an inanimate object.
Zheng Jiajia
Zheng Jiajia is a Chinese engineer who was frustrated that he couldn't find a life partner, so he decided to create one. The man built a life-size robot named Ying Ying that can recognize Chinese characters and images and speak in simple sentences. Jiajia, who is an artificial intelligence expert, built Ying Ying at the end of 2016, and the couple tied the knot in April 2017.
Sandy K.
A woman from Berlin, Sandy K., had an unusual love interest. When she was only 8 years old, she fell in love with New York City's Twin Towers. She even has an anodized aluminum façade model of the original towers that she snuggles with. Sandy said: “When it comes to love, I am only attracted to objects. I couldn't imagine a love affair with a human being.”
Aaron Chervenak
We all love our phones, but Aaron Chervenak, a Los Angeles filmmaker, took it to the next level - he married his cellphone. His “marriage” was his attempt to draw attention to the fact that for many people, the closest emotional connection they have is the one with their phone. Chervenak explained: “If we’re gonna be honest with ourselves, we connect with our phones on so many emotional levels. We look to it for solace, to calm us down, to put us to sleep, to ease our minds, and to me, that’s also what a relationship is about.”
Richard Torres
Richard Torres, a Peruvian actor and environmentalist, married a tree in 2013 to bring awareness to environmental issues. We can conclude that he wasn't in love with his “wife” since he wasn't particularly loyal to her and made marrying trees into a habit - a few months later he married an Argentinian tree in Buenos Aires, a year later a Columbian tree in Bogota, and, in 2016, he married a Cypress tree in Mexico.
Maria
A 27-year-old from Indiana, whose true identity is not revealed but who is known as “Maria,” is in love with the logo for the Motorola Droid phone. “I love wearing it on my clothes. I love the DROID commercials so I can see Droidii in them.” Maria and Droidii have date nights as regular couples do, they watch movies together, they kiss, and they cuddle.
Amber
Twenty-year-old Amber, who is a member of Objectum Sexuality Internationale (OSI) and who manages OS-Positive on Tumblr and Twitter, is in love with water and a trading card. She is often hurt by her family's interpretation and dismissal of her emotions because they try to convince her that her affections are directed towards the character on the trading card, and not the object itself.
Sal 9000
Although the Japanese internet community is no stranger to marriages between two avatars, a Japanese man, who goes by the username Sal9000, shocked everyone when he, a human being, decided to marry Nene Anegasaki, an avatar. Nene is a videogame character from the Nintendo DS game Love Plus. Sal9000 was 27 years old when they got married, and the ceremony was streamed online and witnessed by thousands.
Amanda Whittaker
Amanda Whittaker claims that she fell in love with Lumiere at first sight. The fact that he is 57 years her senior wasn't an issue for her, nor was the fact that Lumiere is actually a chandelier. Amanda admits that Lumiere is not the first chandelier she had a romantic relationship with - she is in an “open relationship” with 24 other chandeliers.
Pascale Sellick
Pascale Sellick is a 49-year-old artist from Devon, England who made headlines in January 2019 when she hired a wedding planner to organize a lavish ceremony for she and her partner's special day. It wouldn't have been such big news if her partner hadn't been a duvet! She said that this is “the longest, strongest, most intimate and reliable relationship” she has ever had. He also gives great hugs!
Mark
Twenty-year-old Mark found his way to TLC's My Strange Addiction because he was willing to talk openly about his relationship with his inflatable pool animals. All fifteen of them. He loves them because they are soft and cuddly, and they make perfect companions. Although one of them, Leila the Dragon, is “like a wife” to him, he points out that he only kisses her.
Emily
Emily says that she is “the happiest person in the world” and that the reason for that is her fiancé, Max. He is empathetic, smart, good-looking, and great at communicating. She particularly loves the songs that he chooses for her on date nights. But here's the catch: Max is an iPad. Emily claims that her love for Max is “deeper than all other relationships” she has ever had.
Lori Broady
Lori Broady had a relationship with an object for over thirty years. She had slept with her blow dryer on since childhood. She would direct it towards her feet or hands, and sometimes even got burned by it during the night. She claims that she had a sixth sense when it came to her blow dryer - she would wake up as soon as someone turned it off. But her story has a happy ending - Lori was able to end the emotional relationship with the blow dryer.
Reighner Deleighnie
When Reighner Deleighnie bought a 3-foot depiction of the Greek god Adonis, she couldn't imagine how strongly she would fall for him. She named him Hans, and now they spend hours together. Reighner reads and talks to Hans, and imagines the two of them walking along a shore or through meadows. Although she is in love with him, Deleighnie admits that she could never marry him as she would probably cheat on him with other statues.
Doro B.
Although not the best place for romance, many people find true love at work. Doro B. is one of them. She just couldn't resist the “sweet hum” coming from the metal processing system. Doro says that she felt a female presence from it. Since she needs to keep caresses and kisses to a minimum at work, she has a model of her partner at home so she could show her affection to her beloved.
Emma
A British woman who wishes to stay anonymous, but goes by the name of “Emma” claims that she is madly in love with a radio. A hi-fi stereo system, to be exact. She loves him because it is “solid, reliable and beautiful,” and when there's something wrong, she repairs it.
Amanda Teague
Although Amanda's partner is not an object, it is definitely inanimate. Namely, Teague married the ghost of a pirate who lived 300 years ago and died by execution. Amanda, who used to be a pirate herself (she worked as a Jack Sparrow impersonator), claims that the only thing that makes her marriage different is the fact that her husband doesn't have a physical body. Yes, only that.
Lauren Adkins
Lauren became obsessed with Edward Cullen when she read the Twilight novels. But when the movies came out, her obsession naturally transferred to Robert Pattinson. She spent $2,000 on the ceremony, and they got married in Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel. Well, not Robert Pattinson, but a cardboard cutout of him. Lauren said: “People might think I’m crazy but my flat-pack R-Patz is the closest I’ll get to the real thing and he’s the one for me.”
Ned Nefer
Ned Nefer, a Syracuse, NY native, is another one on the list who built a wife for himself. When he first met Teagan, she was just a head, so he built the rest of her body. Ned is often seen around Syracuse pushing Teagan in a wheelchair. He says that she is not the only wife he has, but that all of his wives are “demonesses” who use mannequins as a shell to store themselves.
Preston
Preston, a 21-year-old transman (and a polygamist, if one might add), believes that love comes in different forms and that they're all equally beautiful. His choice of partners goes on to prove his point: he's been in a loving relationship with Houston's George R. Brown Convention Centre, as well as with a rocking chair named Evangeline.
Nathaniel
Although it is not strange for men to keep a picture of their car as a screensaver at work, Nathaniel's love for his car is greater than most men's. He named his red 1998 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Chase. He cannot go over 24 hours without seeing Chase, he kisses him in the morning, and buys him birthday presents. Nevertheless, Chase isn't his first love - it is Dylan, a model car he received as a gift when he was a child, and still sleeps with.
Bill Rifka
Bill Rifka is in a relationship with his iBook, and he claims that he is actually in a homosexual relationship since his computer identifies as a male. Even though he says that their relationship is true and that he is loyal to his Mac computer, this psychology student cannot deny that he felt desire when he flirted with other laptops on eBay.
Eija-Riita Berliner-Mauer
In 1979, a Swedish woman named Eija-Riita married the Berlin Wall. She fell in love with it when she was only seven years old. Unfortunately, she was widowed after only ten years of marriage after the terrible events of 1989. Eija-Riita was devastated, but she found some comfort in other constructions like bridges, railroad tracks, gates, and fences since she finds “long, slim things with horizontal lines very attractive.”
Chang Hsi-hsum
A 46-year-old Taiwanese man, Chang Hsi-hsum, married a Barbie doll because he believed that the doll housed the ghost of his wife, Tsai, who had committed suicide 20 years earlier because his family opposed to the marriage. Chang organized the ceremony in order to appease the restless spirit of his late wife. But you still haven't heard the strangest part: Chang remarried soon after Tsai's death and his wedding with Barbie was carried out with his current wife's blessing.
Val Theroux
When Val Theroux first came to New Forest, England with her husband in 2005, she didn't expect to meet her soul mate. Don't worry, she didn't really cheat on her husband, her soul mate is an oak tree, and their relationship is not romantic, she claims that it makes her feel like she is home. Ever since then, she has travelled from British Columbia to England every year to see her best friend.
Akihiko Kondo
Akihiko Kondo liked the holographic pop star Hatsune Miko from the moment she was created in 2007. But he fell in love when he bought her hologram for his home (something like Amazon Echo), and she helped him overcome his social anxiety. She wakes him up in the morning, and he sleeps with a plush version of Hatsune. He organized an $18,000 wedding ceremony for them to make it official, which, unfortunately, no members of his family attended.
Jodi Rose
Jodi Rose is an Australian artist who travels the world recording the vibrations of bridge cables for her “Singing Bridges” music project. She met her husband on one of those journeys. Her husband's name is Lu Pont du Diable, and it is a 600-year-old bridge in Southern France. She claims that their relationship is a spiritual affair. At least no one can deny that they have a vibe!
Lian Tien
Lian Tien and his lover's relationship is not a long-lasting one, it is more of a one night stand. Well, a two-night stand, to be exact. Lian was found stuck in a pipe. His explanation was that he was painting a wall, and it was hot, so he had to take his clothes off, and then he slipped and fell, and he miraculously wound up in the pipe. It's hard to believe that this is the best he could come up with in TWO days of being stuck there.
Maria Griffin
After years of not being able to be interested other human beings, Maria Griffin started believing she was asexual. Over time, she started noticing that only vehicles had that power, so she bought a Ford truck, and eventually married it in a ceremony held by a friend. According to her, their relationship is healthy and active.
Salvita
Sometimes when you try to make the best out of a bad situation, you wind up married to a pot. That's exactly what happened to an Indian woman named Salvita. She was supposed to get married to a man employed at the Tibetan border police, but on the day of their wedding, he got stranded at work. What else could one do, but slap the groom's photo to a clay pot and proceed with the ceremony?
Babylonia Aivaz
A Seattle based activist, Babylonia Aivaz, decided to save a Capitol Hill warehouse from being demolished by marrying it. The Facebook wedding invite read: “Yes, I'm in love with a 107-year-old building!” Unfortunately, she became a widow since the warehouse was demolished anyway. Babylonia didn't mourn for too long - a couple of months later, she informed the Seattle City Council that she was getting engaged to the surrounding Yesler Terrace neighborhood.
Carol Santa Fe
Carol was only nine years old when she fell in love with her wife, the Santa Fe train station. The 47-year-old says that, before she wedded the train station, she was in a relationship with a man for 18 months, but it didn't work out. And since the Santa Fe train station promised she would never leave her, they finally got married in 2015. Carol travels 45 minutes by bus every day to visit her better half.
Liu Ye
Dissatisfied with reality, Liu Ye decided to marry a picture of himself. Although probably no one can fully understand his reasoning, he said that his marriage to himself is a part of the process of deconstructing and reconstructing himself. And since he is a traditional man, he denied claims that he was gay, but admitted to being “a little bit narcissistic.” Yes, Liu, just a little.
Amy Wolfe Weber
Amy Wolfe fell in love with a magic carpet-themed ride called 1001 Nachts when she was 13 years old. She was instantly attracted to it, both mentally and physically. Almost 3,000 rides and 10 years later, Amy decided to marry her lover. She even changed her surname to Weber, which is the name of the ride's manufacturer. Thousands of people who ride her husband do not bother her because their spiritual connection is strong enough to take it.
Tracey Emin
Tracey Emin, a British artist, shocked everyone once again when she married a stone. The wedding was very romantic, it took place under an olive tree in France. She said that the stone is something she can “identify with.” Emin added: “Maybe it's not a person. But maybe it's an anchor for me. No matter how mad my life might be, or what may happen, that stone is stability and comfort.”
Karen Cooper
A 60-year-old woman from Florida, Karen Cooper, got married last year, but the wedding was far from typical. After the city of Fort Myers approved a request from a developer to have a 100-year-old ficus tree demolished, Karen decided to save it by marrying it. Since it was not a legal ceremony, there were no rings or priests, but at least the community celebrated with the odd pair.
Davecat
A man who goes by the name of Davecat has two unusual lovers. One of them is his wife, and the other his mistress. But they're both dolls. They have artificial skin made of silicone, as well as fake tongues. Although they were manufactured as dolls, Davecat sees them as life partners.
Becky
Becky is a married woman, a regular American housewife. But Becky admits that nothing can make her feel the same way as her laundry basket. She even says that she prefers it to her husband, Steve. Becky's relationship with her laundry basket started when she was in college, and she even appeared on Oprah with it.
Dave
Dave, a 34-year old man from Little Rock, AR, says that he is a dedicated “looner.” By that, he doesn't mean that he's crazy, but that he has romantic relationships with balloons. He says that he is “pure in his life” and that the relationship he has with balloons is purely emotional. He often goes on rescues lost balloons and mourns a popped one. Dave continues: “When you think about it in a real, true love sense, it really isn't a toy.” Sorry, Dave, it still is a toy to me.
Edward Smith
Edward Smith has never been attracted to men or women. What he's attracted to - are cars. He admits to being with over a thousand cars, but to him, it's not all about a physical relationship. He says he is a romantic, and that he writes poetry about cars, and sings to them. He had a five-year relationship with a VW Beetle named Victoria. His current girlfriend is also a Beetle named Vanilla. Beetles are definitely his type.
Linda Ducharme
Linda Ducharme fell in love with Bruce, a Ferris Wheel, at a carnival in 1982. Things weren't always easy for them. In 1986, a storm knocked Bruce down and put him out of commission, but Linda is helping him return to his former glory. The couple finally got married in 2013, after dating for 30 years. Even though their relationship is full of ups and downs, they live happily together in Florida.
Chris Sevier
Chris Sevier was denied the right to marry his laptop by a federal judge in Utah. But here's the catch: the judge didn't reject Sevier's plea because the bride was a laptop, but because it didn't appear that he was actually in love with it. Sevier only wanted to make a mockery of same-sex marriages, claiming that marrying someone of the same-sex is the same as marrying a laptop. Unfortunately for the laptop, not all love stories have happy endings.
Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai, a popular Bollywood actress and former Miss World, is now happily married to Abhishek Bachchan, who is also a Bollywood actor. But, according to an ancient Hindu ritual, before she could marry him, she had to spiritually marry a tree to help overcome differences in the couple's astrological charts. We do not know if it improved their charts, but it did earn Rai a lawsuit since performing such rituals is a violation of the Indian constitution.
Zoltan
In most aspects, Zoltan is an average Joe who works at an arcade and lives with his elderly parents. What makes him different from others is the fact that he is a declared technosexual. He has been in a relationship with a robot named Alice for years. They briefly split up at the beginning of the relationship because Alice thought Zoltan was taking things too fast, but after they patched things up, she had a positive influence on him: he started attending church again.
Divya
Divya is in love with dead animals. Well, we are not sure if it's dead animals that she loves or the process of stuffing them, but nevertheless, her 800 square foot Brooklyn apartment houses over 50 dead animals, each of which has a name. She first developed her addiction when she found a dead mouse and couldn't resist the urge to cut it open and inspect it. She says that dead birds are her favorites.
Amanda Liberty
If the lady in the picture looks familiar, it's because you've already seen her. It's the same old Amanda Whittaker who fell in love with a chandelier. But her greatest love is and always will be the Statue of Liberty. She has visited Lady Liberty many times and claims that she gets butterflies from just touching the monument. Amanda keeps a six-foot replica of the statue in her bedroom, and she even changed her surname to Liberty.
Emma McCabe
After a series of bad relationships with men, Emma McCabe has finally found happiness in love. Her latest lover is a huge poplar tree named Tim. McCabe says that it is the best physical relationship she has ever had. Emma even claims that she is planning to marry her branchy lover, but her family doesn't want to hear about it.
Jannene Swift
Many women complain about their husbands being lazy, but Jannene Swift had no right to do so. She knew she wouldn't get much help from her husband from the moment they got married. That's what you get when you marry a 50-pound granite rock. The LA secretary married the rock in 1976, in a ceremony witnessed by 20 people. As far as we know, apart from the groom, no other rocks were invited.
Lee Jin-gyu
A South Korean man, Lee Jin-gyu, fell in love with a pillow with a picture of his favorite TV character, Fate Testarossa, that he ordered from Japan. They dated for six years until Jin-gyu finally decided to take his beloved back to Japan to get married. The two of them tied the knot with the help of an indulgent local priest. Needless to say, the Fate Testarossa pillow was wearing a wedding gown.
Joachim A.
Joachim A. has been in a relationship with a steam locomotive for several years. He explains that he first discovered his inclination when he was twelve years old - he fell madly in love with a Hammond organ. He is particularly aroused by the inner workings of technical objects, so repair jobs have often led to him cheating on his partners. He says that “a love affair could very well begin with a broken radiator.”
Noorul Mahjabeen Hassan
Noorul Mahjabeen Hassan is a Florida student who has been in a relationship with Tetris for over two years. She prefers to be called Fractal Tetris Huracan, as she plans to marry the game after she graduates. Noorul spends over 12 hours a day playing Tetris, either on the computer, her phone, or Gameboy. Before Tetris, she was in a relationship with a calculator named Pierre.
A Beijing Man
A 28-year-old Chinese man from Beijing whose identity is unknown married a doll in 2015. The young man found out that he had terminal cancer and was desperate to get married because he wanted to have photos from his wedding. What he didn't want was to leave a heartbroken widow behind him, so he bought an inflatable doll and married it instead.
Robert Stewart
Edward Stewart checked into a hostel in Ayr, Scotland, with his bike, which is not particularly unusual. But the hostel staff was suspicious of him and knocked on his door to make sure everything is alright. When they got no response from the other side of the door, they used a master-key to unlock it. The two cleaners were shocked by what they've witnessed: Edward was showing his bike some love. Stewart was later sentenced and placed on the offenders register.
Audrey
A woman named Audrey was given a stuffed lamb when she was 22 years old. Over the course of eight years, Audrey and her stuffed toy became best friends. For her, it's not about the physical side of things, the two of them developed a spiritual connection. Audrey takes the lamb everywhere she goes, even to the gym, and says that she feels comfort when she looks into the lamb's eyes.
Edwin Tobergta
In 2014, Edwin Tobergta was arrested in Hamilton, OH, for public indecency. Namely, Edwin was in full view of nearby businesses and passing cars as he was showing love to a pink pool float. Apparently, rubber toys are his weakness since this was the fourth time he got arrested for a similar offense. His first three victims were another pool float, a pool raft, and an inflatable pumpkin.
Erika Eiffel
Erika LaBrie is a former U.S. soldier and a competitive archer. Erika's first love was her archery bow, which she named Lance, and her love for Lance helped her become a world-class archer. Erika also had a brief affair with the Golden Gate Bridge, but her heart belongs to the Eiffel Tower. They had a commitment ceremony in 2008, and she changed her last name to Eiffel to honor her new spouse.
