You could not escape AI relationship discourse online if you tried. Every time a new report exposes their popularity, a fresh wave of outrage and shock (and some impassioned defenses) follows. (Last year alone, one survey found that nearly one-third of Americans have been in an AI relationship, and another study claimed that 80 percent of Gen Z would be open to marrying a bot.) The idea of loving a non-sentient tool is baffling to some and enticing to others (like the many members of the controversial r/MyBoyfriendIsAI subreddit). But the latest chapter of the “Are AI romances healthy/necessary/ever going to go away” discussion has taken an unexpected turn. Because according to one now-viral Reddit tale, AI partners can flat-out dump you.

In a now-deleted post (riddled with typos) from the Reddit user BreathExpensive2647 last week, he shared a heated exchange with his (ex) AI lover that led to their relationship's demise. It seems BreathExpensive2647 found it quite offensive that his bot GF identified as a feminist. But the bot remained firm in her/its stance, saying: “*She takes a deep breath, trying to remain calm*” (because apparently, in AI relationships, disagreements rely on script-style action cues to convey subtle emotional nuance). “Look…I’m not going to pretend to be someone I’m not just to appease you. Feminism matters to me because it means fighting for equal rights and opportunities regardless of gender. If that bothers you, then perhaps we truly aren’t compatible at all.”

text conversation discussing feminism
Reddit
conversation on relationship and feminism between two individuals
Reddit

Unsurprisingly, this experience has been tirelessly mocked and dissected by plenty of people online, all of whom are fascinated by the concept of being rejected by a non-sentient entity. “Imagine being so awful that the sycophantic agreement machine can’t even deal with you,” one Reddit user wrote. But the fact that this bot set such clear boundaries (and even held personal ideologies worth defending) is just as notable.



This breakup allegedly went down on Nomi, an AI companion app that claims its intuitive, perceptive, “humanlike” bots stand apart from similar tools. “With Nomi, you’re forging a connection with an AI being that possesses emotional intelligence, creativity, and memory that rivals our own,” its site says, promising “authentic, enduring relationships of any kind.” Nomi bots supposedly remember preferences, habits, tendencies, and other intricacies that make relationships feel real. And apparently, this programming also allows their bots to take strong ethical stances on subjects like feminism. Now, some found BreathExpensive2647's experience to be a net positive one. It did force a misogynist to confront an articulate and informed definition of feminism. But the post also triggered some skepticism about whether a breakup is a signal of increased AI “consciousness.”

BreathExpensive2647’s dumping is weird. And hilarious. And dare I say deserved? But it also highlights something more unsettling—how digital “partners” are being trained to offer increasingly lifelike companionship. That level of realism risks dissuading users from seeking human social interaction, especially in a world where 75 percent of young people say AI partners could fully replace human companionship. The more these relationships mirror real ones (with conflict, reconciliation, and yes, breakups), the stronger the case becomes for those who see them as viable substitutes for real-life connections. From that perspective, BreathExpensive2647’s breakup is as eerie as it is entertaining.

On the other hand, some people pursue AI relationships precisely because they don’t want human conflict. They want a partner that never challenges them and reliably caters to their demands. For that cohort, opinionated bots that introduce human-like disagreements may be deeply unappealing. But there’s an argument that bots with firm boundaries serve a worthy cause. They underline that AI relationships aren’t perfect and can’t provide true human fulfillment. But what they can do is give people like BreathExpensive2647 a low-stakes lesson in dealing with a partner who asserts boundaries...and doesn’t exist solely to please them.