The future of relationships has arrived—and it’s creating new complications for separating couples.
In a surprising twist to the traditional causes of marital breakdown, UK-based Divorce-Online has reported a surge in clients citing emotional connections with AI companions as a contributing factor in their divorces. While this trend is emerging overseas, it offers a thought-provoking preview of what Canadian family lawyers—and Ontario courts—may soon need to grapple with.
AI Companions: More Than Just Chatbots?
Popular apps like Replika, Anima, and newer platforms such as DreamBF, WifeGPT, and AI Girlfriend are gaining traction by offering users a simulated relationship experience. These platforms use advanced artificial intelligence to mimic human interaction, creating deeply personal emotional exchanges.
In some reported cases, spouses became so emotionally invested in these AI personas that they referred to them as “real relationships.” One spouse described an AI chatbot as the only “person” who truly understood him. Others spent money on premium relationship features or engaged with their AI partner nightly, often in secret.
Emotional Infidelity in a Digital Age
In Ontario, “adultery” has a very specific legal definition under the Divorce Act—it must involve voluntary sexual intercourse between a spouse and someone of the opposite sex. An AI chatbot clearly doesn’t meet this definition.
However, the broader ground for divorce—breakdown of the marriage—can also be established through acts of cruelty or separation for one year, with emotional neglect and digital betrayal often falling under these categories. Excessive time spent on virtual relationships, emotional disconnection, and secretive behaviour could all form part of the factual narrative in a claim of marital breakdown.
What Ontario Couples (and Lawyers) Need to Know
As our digital lives grow more complex, so too do the boundaries of fidelity and intimacy. While Ontario courts are unlikely to recognize AI emotional affairs as “cheating” in the traditional legal sense, they may increasingly be acknowledged as contributing to the erosion of trust, communication, and emotional safety within a relationship.
At Russell Alexander Collaborative Family Lawyers, we’ve long observed how smartphones, social media, and online connections can destabilize a marriage. AI romantic companionship is the next evolution—and it could soon be cited in affidavits, mediation sessions, or collaborative negotiations.
What This Means for Families and the Law
This trend raises important questions:
- Should emotional fidelity be redefined in the digital age?
- What boundaries should couples establish around digital relationships?
- Can emotional harm caused by an AI relationship be quantified in court?
While the law may be slow to adapt, family lawyers must remain alert to these shifts. Emotional abandonment—whether caused by another person or an algorithm—can have very real consequences for families.
Final Thought
Technology continues to redefine human connection. As AI becomes more emotionally intelligent, it may not be long before Canadian family courts are asked to consider the emotional toll of “AI infidelity.” Until then, clients and lawyers alike must remain attuned to how these new relationships—no matter how virtual—can affect very real marriages.
