Second "Life" affair ends in divorce

[underpants]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/11/14/second.life.divorce/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A British couple who married in a lavish Second Life wedding ceremony are to divorce after one of them had an alleged "affair" in the online world.

Amy Taylor, 28, said she had caught husband David Pollard, 40, having sex with an animated woman. The couple, who met in an Internet chatroom in 2003, are now separated.

"I went mad -- I was so hurt. I just couldn't believe what he'd done," Taylor told the Western Morning News. "It may have started online, but it existed entirely in the real world and it hurts just as much now it is over."

Taylor said she had caught Pollard's avatar having sex with a virtual prostitute: "I looked at the computer screen and could see his character having sex with a female character. It's cheating as far as I'm concerned."

But Taylor told the Western Morning News she had subsequently hired an online private detective to track his activities: "He never did anything in real life, but I had my suspicions about what he was doing in Second Life." iReport.com: Anger in a virtual world

Taylor is now in a new relationship with a man she met in the online roleplaying game World of Warcraft.

[Donnachaidh]

1. ugh

To have no life in two places.... :puke:

[newfie11]

2. weird! Maybe they need to just get a life.

[Eryemil]

3. Fascinating

[shadowknows69]

4. Time to step away from the computer for a while

[Xenotime]

5. These people seem to be reaching for something they can't find in reality

I feel so sorry for them.

[KillCapitalism]

7. These people are so out of touch.

They probably don't know what reality is. Both of them should see a therapist ASAP.

[Buzz Clik]

6. Maybe they should have started with a virtual trial separation.

They could have lived in separate chat rooms for a while during which they received marriage couseling from ShrinkYourHead.com

[iamahaingttta]

8. I was really hoping to see a photograph...

...of the living humans involved, because I'm pretty sure they're not as hot as their avatars.



Yes, these humans really need to reconsider what their lives are all about.

[underpants]

12. Eeeeeverybody's got a six-pack or a package

just like real life!!!

[flstci]

30. I saw a picture of the real couple and the 'other woman' on a link somewhere

I'll see if I can find it and post it.

[flstci]

31. Here's the link. I think you'll find they resemble their avatars VERY CLOSELY

hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1085412/Revealed-The-woman-Second-Life-divorce--whos-engaged-web-cheat-shes-met.html

[LisaLynne]

9. Sometimes I can't tell real news from Onion news ...

I mean, the fact that the woman is now in a relationship with someone she met from World of Warcraft just sort of feels like a punchline.

[underpants]

11. Oh I'm sorry

did I post that last or something??

:evilgrin:

[surrealAmerican]

49. It sure does. I predict that relationship, too, will end ...

... when she catches him slaughtering someone else.

[NV Whino]

10. Did they get a virtual divorce?

[lame54]

13. so that's where a computer virus comes from

[Bigmack]

14. Anybody know what a virtual orgasm is like? nt

[underpants]

15. It's like the other kind

but you don't have to buy a steak dinner first

WHOA!!!!!
I'll be here all week.

[bertman]

35. Now that was hilarious!! LMAO. Maybe you and BigMack should start a comedy duo.

[Bigmack]

39. Last time I bought myself a steak dinner....

I took myself home and ended up by taking advantage of myself....

(rimshot!)

[underpants]

43. Speaking of which

my wife is taking WAY too long at the grocery store

She better get home soon...its in everyone's best interest really

[BuelahWitch]

16. So is this the "sanctity of marriage" the Mormons worry about losing

if gays get to marry? :shrug:
It all gives me such a headache...

[Strelnikov_]

17. Whahhhhh n/t

[shadowknows69]

18. I used to "play" this a lot

And it's easy to get caught up in. It's like a virtual disney world and there is no end to interesting stuff you can find. I never got into the whole virtual ses thing though. Too many cool "Star Wars" or "Firefly" themed places to bother with that lol.

[Ms. Toad]

19. The article makes a little more sense

The first article I read failed to mention that they were married not only online, but also in real life - and they are divorcing in real life.

Although the details get a bit more complicated because of the online game, it isn't that different from a wife getting really freaked out about her husband watching porno movies.

I thought she was freaked out in real life because her avatar husband (who she didn't even know in real life) was having sex with an avatar prostitute.

Still, they need to get a life...Ms. Toad says as she prepares to spend her Saturday hooked to her computer.

[shadowknows69]

20. We can smell our own eh Ms. Toad lol

Right here with ya all day. B-)

[Ms. Toad]

21. Yep - at least I have the excuse

that I have to get my retouching done for the last photo shoot I did for NILMDTS.org - and DU is right there as long as I'm on my computer anyway....

[mtnester]

38. Not to hijack, but ...I know that remembrance photography is a hugely emotional gift

but how do you get through it without becoming emotionally....involved all the time?

I think it is an amazing thing, but am not sure if I myself could do it.

(on edit, emotionally invloved as in hurt deeply by it)

[Ms. Toad]

40. Mostly what I am doing for NILMDTS

is retouching images other photographers have taken. That is easier, to some extent, because I never meet the parents or the baby. On the other hand, it is harder because most photographers retouch their own work unless it is beyond their retouching capabilities - so what I get to work on are the images that are harder to nudge into an image the parents will be able to look at with grief for their loss, but not distress at what happened to their child in the process of coming into the world.

I've been drawn to the work for quite a while - my brother lost a son at about a week old, and one of his regrets is that no one thought to bring a camera when they removed life support so they have no images of him except hooked up to machines. I've also been wishing that I could use my photography and restoration skills before I get so farsighted that I can't focus well enough to do the work - so after toying with the idea for about three years I jumped in this summer. At 40+ sessions of retouching, it has been more satisfying than draining. When I am done retouching an image, most of the time the child appears to be sleeping peacefully. I know being able to see their child as s/he would have looked if s/he had lived will be comforting to his or her parents - so I feel well used (in a good sense of being used).

One of the images I did recently was of a child who died around a week before he was born. I didn't have much hope of coming up with a realistic image (sometimes we can't), but as I worked a beautiful little face emerged. It's experiences like that that make it possible to do the work.

The reason I am tied to my computer today is that I am retouching the one session I actually photographed myself. That has been a very different experience, and I have had a hard time finishing the process. It doesn't really feel emotionally different - but it is taking far longer than the other sessions - so maybe I'm just fooling myself. :shrug:

[mtnester]

48. Bless you for this

and really, good luck on this one, since it is a different step for you.

I would offer a silent hug to you to give you strength and calm...for the amazing work you are doing.

I have old photos of young aunts and uncles (think mid to late 1800's) that died little, and it seems that even early photography had a place for remembrance photos. There was also the family grieving event photo as well. Interesting how early photography centered SO much around the event of dying.

Blessings, peace and calm to you on this.

[petronius]

28. Yes, the article (and headline) really plays up the game aspect,

but it's not all that different from dishonesty in any relationship. I would say, <Frist> that these people are far too obsessed with online activities, probably to the point of addiction, and they do need to find some balance </Frist>, but the fact of that computer-obsession probably made this betrayal far more severe to her than it might to someone else...

[Faygo Kid]

22. She's not bad, she's just drawn that way.

[seabeyond]

23. why is this any different than having phone sex with someone other than partner?

you have real people on line with intent of sexually stimulating the other.

this woman has experience with hubby that they meet, fall in love on line and then marry. she knows what he is about. now he is out trolling for others.

how many of yawl really would not have a problem with a partner doing this?

not defending her necessarily. she seems flakey enough for many reasons in such a short article. but i know my hubby wouldnt feel all warm and cozy if i was finding sexual gratification elsewhere even if it wasnt up close and personal.

[PeaceNikki]

25. I tend to agree with you.

My ex and I met online in a chat room. A few years into the relationship, I caught him "cybering" with a woman online via another online virtual game. While it was FAR from the only issue in the relationship, it skeeved me out pretty good.

Again, not the only issue in a relationship, in my opinion, but a symptom of the real issues: someone or both is/are not happy and not satisfied.

[seabeyond]

27. i cant imagine too many people would be comfortable with their mate sexually connected with another

other than themselves and they treat this issue as if it is nothing serious. but given the situation i doubt they would be thrilled with mate becoming "unmarried" during times on puter to "play" with another.

especially if you have a mate like you two that met and fell in love on line. you have history of this and know the possibilities.

my hubby's ass would be kicked outside. i know my hubby wouldnt be thrilled. he would be hurt. why "pretend" otherwise.

[EFerrari]

37. Because it's the intimacy that causes pain, not the venue of that intimacy. n/t

[seabeyond]

41. yes. n/t

[Ezlivin]

24. Why didn't she just download a new service pack for Husband 2.0?

I'm sure she knew how to get around his firewall.

[readmoreoften]

26. She saw the virtual lipstick on his virtual collar.

Now he's virtually screwed.

[Deja Q]

29. I'd hate to see the virtual laundry bill...

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

32. Years ago I used to go into a chatroom on AOL and the romances that were kindled

in there were of incredible proportion. This was the Metaphysical chatroom. Some people left their spouses, others who were unattached, formed strong attachments, a few married, and others flirted to stroke their egos. One woman used to go there and seduce as many men as she could, while her husband sat next to her, laughing his ass off. One day, a few of us members decided to do a raid on a fundy chatroom. It took this woman 2 minutes after mentioning her breasts, to get one of the fundy men to invite her to a private chat!

I always thought that this would be a fun movie for someone to make.

:rofl:

There you just had your mind to imagine what the other person was like but with something like Second Life, although I've never been there (my ibooks processor is to slow and my pc is in my office and not convenient), I could see how someone could get sucked in.

[JCMach1]

47. Come on! This is the equivalent of finding hubby calling a 1-900

# or with a porno-mag

Virtual prostitute!

Sounds like a candidate for a couple of sessions in marriage therapy... not divorce court.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[Generic Other]

34. I make all my videos in SL...it's fun

I have an art gallery where people can buy my stuff. I earn a dollar every time someone buys something. :)

I have given poetry readings, gone to antiwar protests, and even met DUers in a place called Wellstone Cafe. That's where we all watched the Obama speeches. That was really kind of cool actually. Watching and commenting to each other in real time with about 50 die hard Democrats in attendance.

Not only sex and lies on SL.

One of my SL Youtube videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jg1B5CWrTWA

[bertman]

36. At least they don't have to worry about getting "virtual AIDS".

[Vektor]

42. Is this an Onion story?

It's nuts. :crazy:

[Quantess]

44. This is so weird.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

45. This was already foretold in a book...

Jewish film producer trying to increase his net wealth... murders a couple of people along the way. Set in LA. *sigh* The author's name, and the book title, are escaping me. It's something "Man".

[geomon666]

46. Wait you can have sex in Second Life?

What's the keystroke for that?