Love in the Age of AI: An Integrative Process Model of Romantic Human-Chatbot Relationships
The increasing ability of social chatbots to form deep and even romantic Human-Chatbot Re lationships (HCRs) has drawn growing academic attention. Yet, existing research remains fragmented, often examining individual stages such as initiation or dissolution in isolation, without tracing the full relational trajectory. Such fragmentation, however, hinders a holistic understanding of the interplay between the unique psychological and social drivers, relational dynamics, and profound emotional stakes, particularly obscuring the elements unique to ro mantic bonding. This paper addresses this gap by introducing the first empirically grounded integrative process model of the romantic HCR lifecycle. A qualitative secondary analysis of 73 user experiences, drawn from two datasets of qualitative interviews and surveys, provides the basis for a three-phase model that synthesizes established theoretical frameworks related to user needs and gratifications, HCR development, and relationship dissolution. The model demonstrates that the Initiation phase is driven by specific psychological and social determi nants that shape the needs and gratifications sought by the user. The Relationship Building phase progresses through explorative, affective and stable stages, in which users develop gen uine romantic feelings and a deeply integrated bond with the chatbot. Finally, the Ending phase reveals that when dissolution occurs, it elicits emotional and physical responses com parable to human breakups but generates unique, technology-mediated coping mechanisms, potentially leading to a recursive cycle of re-engagement.