Online words hurt some people just as much as real words. They are still uttered by people, they still express feelings. In this respect, it should come as no surprise that virtual actions are beginning to factor in when taking real-life decisions. Several games and programs mimic life, of which the most famous and controversial is “Second Life”. The online role-playing game allows users to create their own avatars, which they can extensively modify until they reached the desired shape. You can alter anything, from cup size to eyebrow shapes and ear size.

This is the story of Amy Taylor and David Pollard, a couple from the UK who met in an online chat in 2003. Their mutual love for “Second Life” brought them closer and closer, the two exchanging vows in 2005. Their Second Life characters, Laura Skye and Dave Barmy, also got married, at Barmy’s home, a sumptuous chalet sporting a Cobra helicopter near it.

However, trouble started brewing in the real world, when Taylor, whose avatar is taller and thinner than her real self and wear cowgirl outfits, saw Barmy’s character engaged in sexual intercourse with what Taylor described as a “prostitute.” Feeling betrayed, Skye divorced Barmy, yet Taylor stayed with Pollard. It seems only fitting only for the virtual relationship to break after virtual cheating – right? Taylor took it to the next level, when she hired a Second Life private investigator, the avatar Markie MacDonald. His scheme involved a female avatar flirting with Barmy, who in turn declared his virtual love for Laura Skye.

Everything would have been fine afterwards, if only Taylor hadn’t caught Barmy cuddling with another woman, Modesty McDonnell...in Second Life. Pollard blames Taylor’s addiction to World of Warcraft for their failing marriage, while Taylor blames what she calls actual cheating. After the divorce was finalized, Taylor met someone through World of Warcraft, while Pollard is engaged to the Modesty McDonnell’s real-life version, Linda Brinkley.