Edimar Martins has vowed to return to Belo Horizonte to find real love after discovering the woman he sold everything to meet never existed.
The 49-year-old Brazilian bricklayer liquidated his entire life last week and boarded a bus for a 1,200-mile journey, convinced he was finally meeting the woman he had messaged since 2020. Martins, a resident of Maranhão in the country’s northeast, told TV Mirante that he first encountered a social media account under the name Jéssica Oliveria four years ago and never suspected the persona was fabricated by artificial intelligence.
On Oct. 9, Martins sold all his possessions to fund the trip to Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais in the southeast. “I sold all my things, I got rid of everything,” he said. “That’s how you get discouraged, who wouldn’t get discouraged?”
When he arrived on Oct. 11, the reality crashed down quickly. Martins went to a local radio station seeking help locating his supposed fiancée, only to be told the account was fake and the woman did not exist. “I went to the radio station there, and they said no, that’s fake news, that woman doesn’t exist,” he recounted.
Stranded and broke, Martins turned to Belo Horizonte City Hall, where he confessed to a social worker that loneliness had driven him across the country. The city provided assistance for his return journey. “It only brings sadness, discouragement, depression,” he said of his situation. “Many people wanted to find a relationship, so I came.”
The TikTok account @JessicaFazendeira, which boasted 300,000 followers before its videos were deleted, had featured an AI-generated woman promising a life of comfort on her farm. “I really want to support you, I want you to come to my farm and never work again in your life,” the fabricated persona stated in one clip.
The actual account operator posted a video Wednesday acknowledging the deception and denying any personal contact with Martins. “I came here to state the obvious: I am made of artificial intelligence,” the AI character announced. “I have never spoken to anyone with this profile. The intention was to gain engagement for sale.”
The operator also wrote in Portuguese on the platform: “ESTOU VINDO AQUI FALAR QUE ESSE PERFIL NUNCA CONVERSOU COM NINGUEM, QUEM FALAR ISSO ESTA MENTINDO! ESSE PERFIL ESTA PRATICAMENTE ABANDONADO, ELE FOI CRIADO COM INTUITO DE SER MONETIZADO NO TIKTOK E VENDER NO TIKTOK SHOP, A FORMA QUE FOI FALADA E RPA GANHAR ENGAJAMENTO, POREM, NUNCA NINGUEM DESSE PERFIL CONVERSOU COM ALGUEM!”
“I never spoke directly to anyone, much less took anyone to Belo Horizonte,” the AI persona continued in the Wednesday video. “It was a surprise to me to see what is happening.”
Martins is now staying with a family member after returning home, but he has not given up on the city where his dreams collapsed. “I didn’t find her, but I’ll find another one, and it will be in the same place I went, and I’ll go again,” he declared.
