Virtual romance is driven by websites like OnlyFans, where mostly women content creators share their daring, sexy videos and photos with paying subscribers.

With their celebrity looks, some OnlyFans members become the objects of obsession for infatuated subscribers. One fan of 21-year-old Sophie Rain drove over 1,000 miles from New York to Miami in the US to personally meet the lingerie and swimsuit model, who is one of the top five earners on the adult site.

A friend of Rain’s recalled the encounter in May when the guy went to the Mondrian South Beach hotel and approached Rain in the lobby, claiming he had made the trip specifically to marry her, the New York Post (NYP) reported.

Rain’s friends had to step in and protect her when the guy tried to grab her. She also had other stalkers, which forced her to hire police escorts costing $50,000 per month.

Meanwhile, a new Europe-based website is offering a girlfriend or multiple girlfriends to its subscribers.

Launched on 9 September, SxxxAI gives men sick or scared of the dating scene a chance to meet their dream girl, according to NYP.

SxxxAI allows members and subscribers to design, for free, a virtual girlfriend based on their preferences. The creator of an AI lover, however, can only customize and chat with a video of her by paying $1 to $99.

A $1 subscription at SxxxAI lets members create up to 10 different women and get up to 300 credits to create AI content with, NYP reported. With the $99 “elite subscription,” users can make 50 “girlfriends” with 3,000 credits to play with, according to NYP.

SxxxAI subscribers have an option to choose an AI girlfriend from a list of 100 women already created by SxxxAI.

However, Susan Trombetti, matchmaker and CEO of Exclusive Matchmaking, warned that SxxxAI would make lonely people and those lacking in social skills worse off because they won’t learn how to deal with women in real relationships.