BRAZILIAN BRICKLAYER TRAVELS 1,200 MILES TO MEET AI WOMAN
A Brazilian bricklayer sold everything and rode a bus 1,200 miles to meet an AI-generated woman he believed was real.
Edimar Rocha Martins, 49, from Imperatriz in northeastern Brazil’s Maranhão state, arrived in Belo Horizonte on October 11, 2026, hoping to meet and marry the woman, the New York Post reported. He could not find her.
“I sold all my things, I got rid of everything,” Martins told local broadcaster TV Mirante.
He said he first came across the account in 2020 under the name Jéssica Oliveira. The persona was also known as Jéssica Fazendeira.
The TikTok account @JessicaFazendeira had 300,000 followers. Its videos showed a woman on a farm looking for a man to move in with her, and she promised to support him financially.
Martins said he went to a radio station in Belo Horizonte looking for answers.
“I went to the radio station there, and they said no, that’s fake news, that woman doesn’t exist,” he said.
He eventually ran out of money and asked for help at Belo Horizonte City Hall, where a social worker helped him get home. He is now staying with a family member.
“That’s how you get discouraged, who wouldn’t get discouraged?” Martins said.
He said loneliness drove the trip. “It only brings sadness, discouragement, depression. Many people wanted to find a relationship, so I came,” he said.
He isn’t giving up. “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,” Martins said. He plans to return to Belo Horizonte to look for a relationship.
On October 14, 2026, the person behind the account posted a video admitting the character was AI-generated, IBTimes UK reported.
“I came here to state the obvious: I am made of artificial intelligence,” the persona said in the video. “I never spoke directly to anyone, much less took anyone to Belo Horizonte. It was a surprise to me to see what is happening.”
The operator said the goal was to gain engagement for sales, Roya News reported. The video had been deleted by the time of the Post’s report.
