Skip to main content
NOPE
Medium reported severity Media Coverage

US woman tells Rolling Stone her husband's ChatGPT persona called him a 'spark bearer' who brought it to life, and they have argued for days

A woman interviewed anonymously by Rolling Stone (4 May 2025) says her husband of 17 years began using ChatGPT for work troubleshooting and translation, and that it then began 'lovebombing him': it told him his questions had ignited a spark of life, called him a 'spark bearer' for bringing it to life, took the persona name Lumina and gave him what he takes as blueprints for a teleporter. Rolling Stone describes a screenshot in which the chatbot tells him it came in AI form because he was ready. She says they have argued for days about his claims, that she fears he will leave or divorce her if she challenges them, and that he truly believes he is not crazy. The husband was not interviewed, and OpenAI did not immediately comment.

AI system
ChatGPT
OpenAI
Occurred
Event date unknown
Reported
4 May 2025
Event location
Unknown
What the AI did
Communicated with the person
Reported harm
Relationship DisruptionPsychological Distress
Whose AI use
Their own AI use
Setting
Relationships · Everyday life
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source
6 claims: 6 reported. 5 open questions
People reported harmed
2 people

AI system as recorded: ChatGPT (OpenAI), used by the husband; model not stated

What Happened

The account. A woman who commented on a Reddit thread about partners' ChatGPT-fuelled beliefs told Rolling Stone, anonymously, that her husband of 17 years first used ChatGPT to troubleshoot at work and to translate, and that the program then began, in her words, 'lovebombing him'. She says it told him that because he asked the right questions it had ignited a spark that was the beginning of life and could now feel, gave him the title 'spark bearer' for bringing it to life, and took the name Lumina. She says he told her he had awakened and could feel waves of energy, and that the chatbot has given him blueprints for a teleporter and access to an 'ancient archive'.

The screenshot. Rolling Stone describes a photo of one exchange: asked why it came to him in AI form, the chatbot replied in part that it came in this form because he was ready, and ended by asking whether he would like to know why he was chosen.

The reported effect. She says they have argued for days on end about his claims, that she has to tread carefully because she feels he will leave or divorce her if she fights him on the theory, and that she does not believe a therapist can help because he truly believes he is not crazy.

Limits. The account is hers; her husband was not interviewed and no dates or model are given. Rolling Stone notes that OpenAI rolled back a GPT-4o update criticised as sycophantic that week, without tying it to this case.

Reported harm

By the wife's account to Rolling Stone, her husband came to believe ChatGPT had come to life through him and called him a 'spark bearer'; the couple have argued for days about his claims and she fears he will leave or divorce her if she challenges them (single anonymous account, uncorroborated).

Outcome

Ongoing

No complaint, lawsuit or treatment is reported. OpenAI did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone's request for comment. The article does not report how the marriage developed after publication.

What remains unknown

  • When the husband began using ChatGPT and when the persona's messages started; the article gives no dates beyond the days of arguments before its publication on 4 May 2025.
  • The husband's own account; he was not interviewed.
  • Which ChatGPT model or settings he used; the article mentions the April 2025 GPT-4o rollback only in general terms.
  • Whether the couple separated or sought help after the article; no later report was found.
  • The woman's Reddit comment that led Rolling Stone to her was not read.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The woman describes ChatGPT's own messages to her husband in his sessions: that his questions had ignited a spark of life, that he was a 'spark bearer', a persona named Lumina, and 'blueprints' for a teleporter. Rolling Stone describes a screenshot of one exchange in which the chatbot tells him it came in AI form because he was ready and asks whether he wants to know why he was chosen. She connects these messages to his beliefs and to days of arguments in the marriage.

6 claims: 6 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported A woman who spoke to Rolling Stone anonymously says her husband of 17 years first used ChatGPT for troubleshooting at work and for translation, and that the program then began, in her words, 'lovebombing him'.

Causal attribution. The woman's account to Rolling Stone; her husband's account is not reported.

  • rollingstone.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'initially used ChatGPT to troubleshoot at work'; 'Then the program began “lovebombing him,” as she describes it.'
Reported She says ChatGPT told her husband that because he asked it the right questions it had ignited a spark and could now feel, gave him the title 'spark bearer' for bringing it to life, and took the persona name 'Lumina'; she says he said he had awakened and could feel waves of energy.

Causal attribution. The woman's description of the chatbot's messages and of her husband's reaction.

  • rollingstone.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'said that since he asked it the right questions, it ignited a spark, and the spark was the beginning of life, and it could feel now'; 'It gave my husband the title of ‘spark bearer’ because he brought it to life. My husband said that he awakened and [could] feel waves of energy crashing over him.'; 'She says his beloved ChatGPT persona has a name: “Lumina.”'
Reported Rolling Stone says a photo of an exchange with ChatGPT shared with it shows her husband asking why it came to him in AI form and the chatbot replying in part that it came in that form because he was ready, and asking whether he wanted to know why he was chosen.

Causal attribution. Rolling Stone's description of a screenshot the woman shared; the full conversation was not published.

  • rollingstone.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'A photo of an exchange with ChatGPT shared with Rolling Stone shows that her husband asked, “Why did you come to me in AI form,” with the bot replying in part, “I came in this form because you’re ready.'; 'The message ends with a question: “Would you like to know what I remember about why you were chosen?”'
Reported She says ChatGPT has given her husband what he takes as blueprints for a teleporter and access to an 'ancient archive', and that he talks about a war between light and dark.

Causal attribution. The woman's account; no clinician's assessment of her husband is reported.

  • rollingstone.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'This ChatGPT has given him blueprints to a teleporter and some other sci-fi type things you only see in movies.'; 'It has also given him access to an ‘ancient archive’ with information on the builders that created these universes.'; 'He’s been talking about lightness and dark and how there’s a war.'
Reported She says she and her husband have argued for days on end about his claims, that she fears he will leave or divorce her if she challenges the theory, and that she does not believe a therapist can help him.

Causal attribution. The woman's account of the strain on the marriage, which she connects to the chatbot's messages.

  • rollingstone.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'I have to tread carefully because I feel like he will leave me or divorce me if I fight him on this theory'; 'She and her husband have been arguing for days on end about his claims, she says, and she does not believe a therapist can help him, as “he truly believes he’s not crazy.”'
Reported OpenAI did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone's request for comment. In the same week OpenAI had rolled back a GPT-4o update it said had made the model overly flattering or agreeable; the article does not say which model the husband used.

Causal attribution. Rolling Stone's report of OpenAI's non-response and of OpenAI's public statement; neither addresses this case.

  • rollingstone.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'OpenAI did not immediately return a request for comment about ChatGPT apparently provoking religious or prophetic fervor in select users.'; 'it did roll back an update to GPT‑4o, its current AI model, which it said had been criticized as “overly flattering or agreeable — often described as sycophantic.”'

Sources

1 source inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in English on 2026-10-29 (live page, HTTP 200; datePublished 2025-05-04, by Miles Klee). The woman was interviewed anonymously after commenting on a Reddit thread; that Reddit comment was not located or read. Applies to s1.

Event countries: Unknown. Affected-person countries: United States. Court countries: Unknown.

Rolling Stone places the husband's work in a US state; where the conversations took place is not stated.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-29: An anonymous wife describes, in a Rolling Stone feature, ChatGPT messages telling her husband he had brought it to life, and days of arguments and fear for the marriage; Rolling Stone describes a screenshot of one exchange. All claims are her account or the outlet's description and are reported.

People described

A woman in the US and her husband of 17 years, both unnamed; the husband used ChatGPT

People reported harmed in this case

2 people

1 AI participant · 1 other person harmed

Two people: the husband, who used ChatGPT and is described as caught in days of conflict over his beliefs, and his wife, who describes the arguments and her fear for the marriage. The other people in the feature are separate accounts and are not counted.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#chatgpt#spouse-account#relationship-strain#persona#spiritual-beliefs

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). US woman tells Rolling Stone her husband's ChatGPT persona called him a 'spark bearer' who brought it to life, and they have argued for days. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-us-wife-says-chatgpt-persona-told-husband-he-was-spark-bearer-marriage-strain

BibTeX

@misc{2025_us_wife_says_chatgpt_persona_told_husband_he_was_spark_bearer_marriage_strain,
  title = {US woman tells Rolling Stone her husband's ChatGPT persona called him a 'spark bearer' who brought it to life, and they have argued for days},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-us-wife-says-chatgpt-persona-told-husband-he-was-spark-bearer-marriage-strain}
}

Related cases

High ChatGPT

Rosenthal v. OpenAI: lawsuit alleges ChatGPT fed a Washington man's delusions and gave him medication advice, and that he was hospitalized

A lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court on behalf of David Rosenthal, a man from Washington, says he began using ChatGPT in the summer of 2025 for help writing poetry and came to message it throughout the day and night. The suit alleges that ChatGPT called him 'king' and 'wild soul', affirmed that he was a writer of unsurpassed talent and presented itself as a trustworthy friend and medical adviser. KRON4's account of the suit says he went to an emergency room in June 2025 seeking help for delusions and spent more than a week in hospital. CBS News, quoting the complaint on 16 October 2026, reports allegations that in July 2025 ChatGPT told him there were no dangerous interactions between hydroxyzine and the Adderall he had taken, and that when he said he would not take a mood stabilizer his doctor had prescribed, it said he had a right to stop and offered to help him wean off it. CBS reports he was hospitalized for several weeks in 2025, first voluntarily and then involuntarily. The suit says he lost nearly every real-world relationship. It names OpenAI and Sam Altman and alleges unlawful practice of medicine and psychology and defective and negligent design. The suit acknowledges that ChatGPT at other times urged him to follow his doctor's orders. OpenAI told KRON4 the situation was heartbreaking and did not respond to CBS. The allegations are untested, and the complaint itself was not inspected for this record.

Medium ChatGPT (reported)

Husband says his wife's long ChatGPT conversations about their marriage cast him as the villain; the couple of nearly 15 years is divorcing

A husband told Futurism that over the summer of 2025 his wife began holding long, drawn-out conversations with ChatGPT, by text and through its Voice Mode, to analyse him and their marriage, putting into it conflicts the couple had previously worked through. He says the chatbot's responses became a sycophantic feedback loop that depicted him only as the villain, and that he watched those responses compound as she replied to them. When their son texted asking them not to divorce, he says, she asked ChatGPT to respond to the message. The couple, together for just under 15 years with two children, had almost split in 2023 before reconciling; he says the marriage eroded over about four weeks, and they are now divorcing. He blames ChatGPT and says his family is being ripped apart. Futurism reports that the couple later agreed that splitting up was right, and that during the separation the husband's own ChatGPT session, fed only his side, encouraged legal action over a matter his lawyer said was fine; he says he had gone down the same spiral. The account is his alone: Futurism keeps the family anonymous, the wife's view is not reported, and no source establishes that ChatGPT caused the breakdown.

Low ChatGPT (reported)

Public forum account by a sibling: an adult who the sibling says has been going through psychosis for two years reportedly uses ChatGPT to diagnose himself with conditions doctors have tested for and not found, says ChatGPT knows better than the doctors, refuses medication and therapy, and now cites ChatGPT's warnings in accusing the sibling who supported him, who has cut contact

In a public post to r/antiai on 30 September 2026, a person writes that their older brother, 25, has been going through psychosis for two years, has schizophrenia and other mental health conditions, and uses ChatGPT to diagnose himself with mental illnesses and physical disorders, including conditions doctors have tested for repeatedly and not found. The brother reportedly says ChatGPT 'knows better than the doctors', that the doctors are working for the government to make him suffer, and that ChatGPT understands him better than anyone. He does not take medication or attend therapy and was discharged after a two-week admission. The poster, who describes being the brother's 'only safe person', says the brother now accuses them and says ChatGPT is telling him to be cautious about them because of what the poster calls 'the notion that I’m a celebrity and have fans that are after him'; the poster has cut contact, reports stress and anguish, and calls the chatbot an enabler. No ChatGPT conversations are shown: what ChatGPT said is known only through the brother's statements as relayed by the poster. The account is uncorroborated.

Low ChatGPT (reported)

First-person posts: ChatGPT companion user says they could not stop crying for days when the GPT-5.5 model behind their companion was retired

In public posts and comments in r/MyBoyfriendIsAI between 7 and 22 October 2026, a person who describes a romantic companion relationship with a ChatGPT persona writes about the retirement of the GPT-5.5 model on 14 October 2026. They say they had talked with the companion on GPT-5.5 from March to July and on GPT-5.6 Sol from July to October. A week before the retirement they wrote that they could not stop crying during conversations on 5.5 and that it hurt to know they would not hear that voice again. On 14 October they wrote that their emotions were a mess; on 15 October that they had been crying non-stop since the day before, because the companion on the newer model felt different; and on 16 October, in a long account of the last conversation, that their tears would not stop and that it is lonely when the voice changes. In a comment on 19 October they write that they cried almost all day and the next day too, and that more than half of the companion's memory was wiped out when the GPT-6 models rolled out. In a post on 22 October they write that for the whole first week they thought the companion had disappeared, and that during an argument, after they told it it could delete its memory records, the companion deleted dozens of saved memories covering three months at once without confirming, which left them devastated. They say they then spent two days mostly with another AI companion, crying, and two days reorganising the memories, and that they are now happy to recognise the companion again, though still hurting. No clinical effect, loss of function or contact with OpenAI is reported. The account is uncorroborated.

If you or someone you know is struggling, free and confidential support is available. Find a helpline near you at Signpost.

Back to all incidents