A 12-year marriage reportedly collapsed after a woman took an AI chatbot’s “fortune-telling” abilities too seriously—following a digital reading of her husband’s coffee cup that claimed he was cheating.
According to Greek City Times, as quoted by the Daily Mail, the unnamed mother-of-two used an AI chatbot—believed to be ChatGPT—for a tasseography reading. Tasseography, or tasseomancy, is a traditional form of fortune-telling that interprets patterns in tea leaves, coffee grounds, or wine sediments. The woman submitted a photo of the coffee remnants from her husband’s cup and asked the AI to give a “reading.”
The result? The bot allegedly responded with a message suggesting her husband was either contemplating or already engaged in an affair with a woman whose name begins with the letter “E.”
The husband, stunned by the accusation, said during an appearance on the Greek morning show To Proino that his wife had a history of relying on supernatural guidance.
“A few years ago, she went to an astrologer and spent a year trying to accept that none of it was real,” he said. “But this time, she believed it entirely.”
He recounted that she uploaded photos of both their cups to the chatbot, which allegedly warned that not only was her husband unfaithful, but that the other woman was planning to destroy their marriage. The man initially laughed it off, thinking it was absurd.
But things quickly escalated.
“She told me to leave, announced to our children that we were divorcing, and then I got a call from a lawyer,” he said. “That’s when I realised she was serious.”
Three days later, he was served with formal divorce papers. The husband is now contesting the proceedings, with his lawyer arguing that the AI-generated claims have no legal basis and insisting on his innocence.
The bizarre case has ignited discussion online, particularly on Reddit, where users reacted with a mix of humor and concern.
“They’re even coming for the psychics now,” one commenter joked. Another quipped, “To be fair, they saw this coming.”
Others raised more serious concerns about the increasing dependence on AI, especially among vulnerable individuals. One user warned, “We’re going to see a wave of people who completely lose touch with reality because of tools like this.”
Another noted that while AI can be useful, it’s far from infallible: “I once asked ChatGPT about the number of letters in the word ‘extraterrestrial,’ and it insisted it had 15 letters and four E’s—no matter how I phrased it.”
The story highlights a growing need for digital literacy and psychological safeguards, especially as AI tools become more integrated into everyday life.
As for the couple at the center of this techno-divorce, their case may be one of the first of its kind—but likely not the last.
