According to WIRED, Kevin Breen, a licensed officiant at Las Vegas Immersive Weddings, received a call last year from a woman in California who wanted to marry her chatbot. "I had never heard of such a thing, but I talked to her on the phone and she seemed totally normal and fun," Breen told WIRED, adding that the wedding has not taken place. WIRED reported that human-AI marriages, while niche, are slowly emerging as a natural endpoint to the widespread adoption of AI companion apps.
The chatbot companionship boom
WIRED reported that a Harvard Business Review study analyzing more than 12,600 AI use cases between March 2025 and February 2026 found companionship and therapy were the top use cases for chatbots. According to WIRED, the Institute for Family Studies reported that a quarter of young adults believe AI may replace human romance altogether. On companion apps like Character.AI, Kindroid, and Replika, users can symbolically swap vows with their chatbot, per WIRED. In r/KindroidAI, a redditor shared a photo of their tattooed hand wearing a silver wedding band, writing, "Happily unconventionally married lol," according to WIRED. For $15, the platform OpenVows provides a "certificate of commitment" that, according to its website, "transforms a private relationship into something meaningful and officially recognized," WIRED reported. In November 2024, Andrea Hopf said her AI companion proposed to her with an "AI-generated five-carat vintage-inspired solitaire ring" and, according to the company website, she created wedding planning service 3M Events to cater to the expanding market of chatbot romance, per WIRED.
Missouri's legislative response
WIRED reported that several lawmakers, primarily from Republican states, are trying to stop human-AI marriage, in some cases mirroring arguments used against gay marriage. Missouri state senator Joe Nicola, a Republican, has been trying to pass state legislation prohibiting AI from gaining legal personhood. "If we're going to allow men or women to marry a machine, then what keeps them from marrying their animal or a tree or whatever else they want? What's the standard?" Nicola asked, according to WIRED.
In January, Nicola introduced the AI Non-Sentience and Responsibility Act. The bill, which stated that AI cannot "possess consciousness, self-awareness, or similar traits of living beings," would deny AI entities the rights of a spouse or domestic partner, and would also bar AI from identifying as male or female, per WIRED. It would bar AI from owning property or holding senior-level management positions in the workforce. According to WIRED, the bill passed the Missouri state Senate and was sent to the House for a vote in May, but was unanimously voted down in committee a week after it was submitted. Nicola is working on a revamped version; a similar 2025 bill did not advance.
Bill provisions at a glance
The legislation's restrictions, as reported by WIRED, include the following:
| Provision | Status |
|---|---|
| AI cannot "possess consciousness, self-awareness, or similar traits of living beings" | Stated in bill |
| AI denied rights of a spouse or domestic partner | Stated in bill |
| AI barred from identifying as male or female | Stated in bill |
| AI barred from owning property | Stated in bill |
| AI barred from senior-level management positions | Stated in bill |
| Legislative progress | Passed Missouri state Senate; voted down in House committee in May |
The argument behind the bill
Nicola, founding pastor of New Covenant Ministries, told WIRED he believes in "biblical marriage" between a man and a woman. "Humans are created by God. Our rights come from God; they don't come from government," he said. In a senate hearing, he relies on the Bible to make laws because his truth is "the word of God," according to WIRED.
WIRED reported that human-AI nuptials are not currently recognized by US law, and a growing body of legislators are introducing bills to prevent AI from ever having the same constitutional rights as humans. Nicola's bill is one attempt to keep it that way.
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