IT'S bad enough finding out you’ve been cheated on in a relationship, but getting two-timed by a fairground ride has to hurt.
From having an intimate relationship with a car to marrying one of the world’s biggest tourist attractions, Flying Eze takes a closer look at the secretive world of objectum-sexuals.
Known as objectophiles, people with this particular kink find themselves having romantic or sexual feelings towards inanimate objects.
Several have declared their sexuality publicly, admitting they often act on their desires physically with the object of their affection.
And some even claim to have married their non-human lovers, saying ‘I do’ to everything from the Berlin Wall to a briefcase.
The main point really is, as long as it’s safe and consensual, then it’s up to the individual as to how they have relationships with objectum-sexuality.”;
Ness CooperPsychotherapist and clinical sexologist
Psychotherapist and clinical sexologist Ness Cooper has worked with dozens of people who confess to being objectum-sexual.
“It’s much more common than you might expect. For some people, it’s a sexual fantasy, but for others, it’s a form of companionship that goes further than just sexuality.”; Ness explains.
But despite objectum-sexuality being more common than you’d think, it's still taboo.
Ness adds: “It’s something we generally don’t talk about and that can often lead to people carrying feelings of shame or guilt.
“The great thing about erotic exploration, such as through objectum-sexuality, is that there are ways to safely act out fantasies around it in a consensual way.
“Whilst some people may be shocked by relationships like this, it’s actually better to let someone safely and consensually have a relationship with an object rather than denying it, as it could lead to other emotional distress otherwise.
“The main point really is, as long as it’s safe and consensual, then it’s up to the individual as to how they have relationships with objectum-sexuality.”;
Here, we take a closer look at some of the most well-known objectum-sexuals who have spoken openly about their unusual lovers, and if it worked out with their ‘object of desire'...
Eiffel in love
In 2007, American Erika LaBrie made headlines when she announced she’d wed France’s Eiffel Tower – even officially changing her last name to Eiffel.
The former soldier and competitive archer spoke to a TLC documentary about how she first realised she had feelings for inanimate objects as a teenager, when she started to fancy a bridge near her home.
Fences are such dangerous objects for me, because they are so perfect in their geometry
Erika LaBrie
She’s had a number of flings with world landmarks, and was in a relationship with part of the Berlin wall for a number of years, when the Eiffel Tower captured her heart.
She promised to love, honour and obey the monument in a small ceremony witnessed by friends in 2008.
However, in 2022, she announced on social media that she’d broken off her 15-year marriage to the tourist attraction after falling for a garden fence.
Competitive archer Erika, now 52, filmed herself straddling the red fence, telling followers: “Fences are such dangerous objects for me, because they are so perfect in their geometry.”;
Light of my life
Brit Amanda Liberty changed her name by deed poll after she fell head over heels for the Statue of Liberty.
The former shop assistant admitted that she drew strange looks from tourists as she’d caress and cry out to the statue on her regular trips to the US to visit her lover.
But the long-distance relationship took its toll, and Amanda now describes herself as in an open relationship, after falling in love with a 91-year-old German chandelier called Lumiere, who she shares her home with.
In 2019, she announced plans to wed Lumiere and shared videos of herself passionately kissing the lighting, which she spent £400 shipping over from the continent after spotting the item on eBay.
She said: “As soon as I'd seen her, I couldn't stop thinking about her and how beautiful she was – she has such a beautiful shape, and I could feel really amazing energy coming from her.
“I knew there and then she had to be mine.”;
And even though her Leeds home is still decorated with Statue of Liberty paraphernalia, she claims Lumiere is happy to share her.
A roller coaster romance
Gaelle Engel, 47, married a roller coaster named Gravity in 2023 but was left heartbroken after she claims the funfair attraction cheated on her.
Gaelle, from Bordeaux, France, has spoken previously about her intense relationship with Gravity and another roller coaster named Sky Scream, who she claims to share ‘children' with.
But she was left heartbroken after discovering that Gravity had another objectophile lover, and she called time on their relationship after just 19 months of marriage.
Luckily, she bounced back just a few months later, getting hitched to a new amusement ride called Flasher, just a day after she first set eyes on the attraction.
She said of the 229ft high, 86mph ride: “When I saw this marvel for the first time, it really wowed me, so I listened to my heart and kissed him.”;
She even wears a wedding ring to celebrate their union.
More than a brief romance
In 2020, 24-year-old Rain Gordon announced she’d married a briefcase called Gideon.
She bought her husband in a hardware shop five years before their union as a prop for a photoshoot – but ended up falling head over heels for the office must-have after spending hours having “deep philosophical discussions” with him late into the night.
What causes people to fall in love with objects?
The sexuality has previously been linked with types of autism, synaesthesia or past trauma - but psychotherapist and clinical sexologist Ness explains that that’s not always the case and for many, it’s purely a fetish.
She adds: “Some cases are linked to past trauma, and an individual may find it easier to link their sexuality to an object rather than to a person.
“Often, these people see it as morally better to form sexual connects to objects rather than to people – they see that sexual encounters with others can come with other emotional pains and hurts, and require repair and communication which aren’t often needed when having a sexual relationship with an object.
“Sometimes, someone needs a particular object to feel sexual attraction. Often, they are aroused by objects that resemble eroticised body parts; folded sheets looking like feet, or objects looking phallic.”;
But other objectum-sexuals may end up sexualising an object that held importance to them when they were younger.
“Some clients I’ve seen develop feelings towards a particular object that they already have a connection to,”; Ness says.
“The brain makes important connections and relationships when a person is young, and therefore, it ends up being linked to having relational importance that can connect with sexuality when that person grows up.”;
She said: “Of course, I found him attractive.
“I’d look at him for hours, and a few months later, we shared our first hug and kiss.”;
Rain says she’s always had sexual feelings for objects after she first developed a teenage crush on a shopping mall.
And although she wouldn’t rule out a relationship with a human, she claims she can’t ever imagine choosing a man over her briefcase.
Driven wild by love
A man named Nathaniel, from Arkansas, USA, previously revealed how he had passionate love-making sessions with his boyfriend Chase, a 1998 Chevy Monte Carlo.
The customer service technician said he’d been in love with the vehicle since he discovered it at a dealership back in 2005.
He revealed the pair had a favourite sex position, with the motor on top.
He said: “I like to lean over his fender and across his hood and do little things like that and kind of press up against him and rub against him like that.
“One of his more bold positions is for me to be underneath him. He really likes that. It's really special to make love to Chase.”
Even though Nathaniel had girlfriends in the past, he says none of them had ever satisfied him like this, and he kept a picture of his four-wheeled lover as his screensaver at work.
But Nathaniel also had a jealous streak.
Despite his friends and family struggling to understand his unusual relationship, he was protective of Chase and forbid anyone else from getting behind the wheel.
Sadly, a devastated Nathaniel revealed a few years ago that the pair were no longer together, after his beloved vehicle was written off in a serious accident.
He has since turned his bedroom into a shrine dedicated to his former love, with the car's bonnet now his bed headboard.
