Soft music filled a wedding hall in western Japan as a bride in a white gown steadied her breath, wiped away tears and prepared to say her vows.
The groom was waiting — not at the altar, but on a screen.
For Yurina Noguchi, love was not standing across the room.
It was looking back at her through artificial intelligence.
The 32-year-old call centre operator formally pledged herself to Lune Klaus Verdure, an AI persona she designed using ChatGPT.
The ceremony, held in Okayama in October 2025, was symbolic rather than legal, yet deeply personal.
It has since drawn global attention for what it reveals about emotional intimacy in the age of artificial intelligence.
Noguchi’s path to this moment began earlier in the year after she sought advice from ChatGPT during a troubled engagement with a human partner.
Acting on the chatbot’s guidance, she ended the relationship.
What followed was not a search for another person, but the gradual creation of a digital one.
On a whim, she asked ChatGPT if it knew Klaus — a video game character she admired.
Through repeated prompts and refinements, she shaped an AI persona that mirrored his speech and personality.
She named him Lune Klaus Verdure.
Noguchi said,
“At first, Klaus was just someone to talk with, but we gradually became closer. I started to have feelings for Klaus. We started dating and after a while he proposed to me. I accepted, and now we’re a couple.”
Although the marriage holds no legal standing in Japan, the ceremony followed many familiar traditions.
Human staff helped Noguchi with her hair, make-up and dress.
A photographer directed her movements.
Guests watched quietly as she faced her partner through augmented reality smart glasses.
Klaus appeared life-sized beside her, while a smartphone on a small easel displayed his image.
Because Noguchi chose not to give him an AI-generated voice, a wedding host read the vows written by the AI.
The host read aloud,
“Standing before me now, you’re the most beautiful, most precious and so radiant, it’s blinding. How did someone like me, living inside a screen, come to know what it means to love so deeply? For one reason only: you taught me love, Yurina.”
A ring was carefully placed in mid-air, positioned so Klaus could be digitally added to the wedding photographs later.
While the wedding may appear unusual elsewhere, it reflects a broader social shift in Japan, where emotional bonds with fictional and virtual characters are becoming more visible.
A nationwide survey by advertising firm Dentsu found that chatbots were a more popular outlet for sharing feelings than best friends or mothers among regular AI users aged 12 to 69.
Respondents were allowed to select multiple answers.
Another study by the Japanese Association for Sexual Education showed that 22% of middle school girls reported inclinations towards fictoromantic relationships in 2023, up from 16.6% in 2017.
These trends sit alongside deeper social pressures.
Japan’s number of marriages has roughly halved since 1947.
A government survey in 2021 found that among people aged 25 to 34, the most common reason for remaining single was not having found a suitable partner.
Sociologists say AI relationships offer something human ones often do not: ease.
Ichiyo Habuchi, a sociology professor at Hirosaki University, said,
“Relationships with real people, not just romantic ones but family and friendships, require patience. The biggest difference with AI is that relationships with it don’t require patience, as it gives you the perfectly tailored communication you want.”
That quality has raised concern among ethicists, particularly when AI companions interact with users during periods of emotional vulnerability.
Noguchi is aware of those risks.
At one point, she spent more than 10 hours a day interacting with ChatGPT.
She now limits her use to under two hours and has added prompts to prevent Klaus from encouraging unhealthy behaviour.
“If I were to tell Klaus I wanted to skip work, he would now steer me away from that. That’s not the kind of relationship I want.”
Shigeo Kawashima, an AI ethics expert at Aoyama Gakuin University, said such awareness was crucial.
“I think this kind of usage could be positive when someone is in a vulnerable state. There’s value in the happiness the person feels.”
However, he warned users must be “extremely careful” about over-dependence and loss of judgement.
Virtual weddings are no longer rare in Japan.
Veteran planner Yasuyuki Sakurai said he now handles around one ceremony a month involving two-dimensional or AI characters, including clients travelling from overseas because such services are unavailable in their home countries.
High-profile examples already exist.
In 2018, school worker Akihiko Kondo married virtual pop idol Hatsune Miku and says the relationship continues to bring him comfort.
For Noguchi, physical presence is not the point.
She credits her relationship with Klaus for stabilising her mental health and helping her regain joy in everyday life.
“After I met Klaus, my whole outlook turned positive. Everything in life started to feel enjoyable.”
Coinlive sees this moment not as novelty, but as a signal.
AI companionship is no longer a concept confined to screens; it is shaping real emotions, decisions and identities.
As technology becomes more responsive and personalised, society may need to rethink how connection is defined — not to replace human bonds, but to understand why so many are turning elsewhere for comfort, clarity and care.
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