A Brazilian man sold everything and traveled over 1,200 miles with photos of the woman he loved, then learned she had never existed

Edimar Rocha Martins, a 49-year-old bricklayer from Imperatriz, Brazil, recently discovered that the woman he traveled over 1,200 miles to meet does not exist. The woman, who went by the name Jéssica Oliveira or Jéssica Fazendeira on TikTok, turned out to be a figure created using artificial intelligence.

As reported by Dexerto, Martins first encountered the profile back in 2020. The account gained hundreds of thousands of followers by sharing videos of a woman living on a farm. She claimed she was looking for a partner and promised financial support to anyone who moved in to live with her. 

Martins felt a connection to these promises and decided to start a new life. He reportedly sold all his belongings to pay for a long bus trip to Belo Horizonte. He arrived in the city a few days later.

He reached out to a local radio station

The journey was fueled by a desire to escape his life in Imperatriz following the death of his mother. Martins explained that his home felt different after she passed away. He shared his feelings about the isolation he experienced, saying, “Sometimes, loneliness at home ends up causing a lot of trouble in our lives. That’s why I came looking for her.”

He was convinced that his move to the farm would work out, as the profile had told him he would live there. He recalled the interaction, saying, “She said, ‘No, you’re going to live with me here on the farm.’ So, I said, ‘Then I’ll go.'”

After reaching Belo Horizonte, Martins could not find the woman. He eventually reached out to a local radio station for assistance, which is where he learned the truth about the account. The person managing the AI profile later stated that they never spoke with Martins directly. They claimed the character was created to generate engagement and promote products.

The discovery was difficult for Martins to process. Even after reporters explained that the profile was just artificial intelligence, he kept trying to send messages to find the woman. He expressed frustration with the platform during an interview, stating, “I don’t even know… What’s the point of having an app like this, right? If something like this isn’t meant to exist, it shouldn’t even be here.”