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A woman has opened up about how she 'felt threatened' when her partner began a second relationship with a plastic doll.
Aussie Rod explained that he bought Karina in October 2021 after experiencing a dry spell.
At the time of Karina's arrival, Rod hadn't met his girlfriend, who he connected with online as she lived 5,000km away.
He told 7News: "Home was very empty. You get lacklustre when there's no stimulation in your life.
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"I hadn't touched a girl in two years - and it all got a bit strange and distant."
He explained that he first learned about sex dolls online, admitting that it was something he 'never knew existed' until then.
Clearly curious enough to buy one, after spending AU $3,000 (£1,700), Karina was in his life - and his human partner remained 5,000km away.
But Rod ended up getting more from the doll than just a 'physical synthetic companion', and it wasn't long before he actually developed feelings for her.
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"All of a sudden, from emptiness, I had something that required care and maintenance and improvement in a feminine way," he said. "It was nice."
However, while Rod was happy with his life after Karina's arrival, when the time came to tell his partner about the doll, she was not happy, to say the least.
"We argued about it and she didn't understand," he said. "The first thing that she's feeling is threatened and wondering why."
He explained that he confessed about a month after he first got the doll.
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But thankfully, his partner was eventually understanding and accepting that Karina was just 'keeping him company'.
Rod's passion for love dolls has now won him a sizeable following online after he began sharing photos of them.
He now has an Instagram in Karina's name that has 11,700 followers at the time of writing.
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The photographer explained that the account was key in helping his human girlfriend accept his relationship with the doll.
"She saw what I was doing with the photos and the media and just totally accepted it in the end," he said.
In fact, Karina is now so much a part of Rod's life that she's met his mum, who is 85.
Rod said that his girlfriend is even happier now that his work with the dolls has bagged him a new job too - photographing them for a Chinese factory.
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"She is really happy to support me," he said. "She was really excited that I got the factory deal, which will open up fields."
Topics: Sex and Relationships
Emma Guinness