I Used 'Invisible Boyfriend' - The App That Lets You Pretend You're In A Serious Relationship - And It Was Hilarious
Immediately, I knew I wanted to try it out.
The app boasts something that hasn't been seen much before - someone real on the other end, sending you texts, calling you, and even leaving voicemails (who does that anymore?) to make the relationship look, well, like an actual relationship!
The service costs about $25, but it's still in beta, so I was able to try it out for free (I would receive up to 10 texts at no charge from my new boyfriend.)
A cool perk of the site is that it allows you to cherry-pick a lover that suits your interests.
From their looks...
To their name and age (I had a friend choose these for me)...
To their interests and personality. You can even type in a blurb about how you met (I just stuck with the generic blurb that was already filled out.)
I ended up with someone who resembled my actual boyfriend. Meet Gerald!
Once I confirmed my telephone number, the texts from Gerald began rolling in. He seemed like a robot, until he spelled "to" wrong and I called him out on it and he got sassy with me.
Then I decided to pick a fight with him, because this is supposed to be a real relationship.
Gerald took some time to respond, just as regular humans do.
But I still felt like I was talking to a stranger, not a lover that I could convince others around me that I was actually dating. Besides, how would I do that? Save Gerald showing up to a function and holding my hand, what was I supposed to do? Wave my phone around exclaiming "my new boyfriend Gerald is texting me!"?
My colleague, Steve Kovach, signed up for Invisible Girlfriend and began his relationship with a woman he named "Ruth Bader Ginsburg."
He did not save her number as a contact (he's not as committed as Gerald and I are), so I blurred out the phone number.
What we realized was that the area codes of Ruth and Gerald matched the cities that we chose for them to hail from. Attention to detail!
The beta program of Invisible Boyfriend/Girlfriend allowed us to receieve 10 free texts from our new love interests.
The initial package will cost users around $25 and will also include phone calls and handwritten letters, but I'm still not convinced this is actually a good investment for those looking to convince their mothers or their bosses or whoever is super interested in their love lives that they're dating someone.
Why not just have a good friend role-play via text for a weekend? Change the contact name of a friend to a fake boyfriend's name - for free!
Or, just own your single status!
One thing's for sure, though: Invisible Boyfriend would have been perfect for Jan Brady.