In real life, Zora is 28, and Timeless is 21.
In virtual reality, both are ageless.
In real life, Zora is from Tennessee and Timeless is from Nebraska.
In virtual reality, both live in a variety of worlds.
In real life, Zora works at Walmart, and Timeless is a student.
In Virtual Reality, both are content creators.
Two separate souls, from two separate worlds who were bound together by Virtual Reality. Through their shared love of the Metaverse, they found love for each other and now a year after meeting, their worlds are one, moving in together just three months ago.
This is Zora and Timeless, and this is their modern dating story.
“We both went on a VR dating show, as a joke, and I [Zora] was the main person on there so I had five other guys to choose from and I actually tried to eliminate Timeless immediately because I asked him if water was wet, and he said no.
“I was like ‘you’re out’ but the host wouldn’t let me and luckily, he did, because we ended up being the winners.
“After was a little awkward because we didn’t know what to do and we ended up just sitting next to each other not talking. The show then finished, and I decided to make the first move by messaging him on Discord, to argue than Water is wet, and then we became friends.
“Over the next week, we spoke about our tattoos, the colour of our hair and we started to share photos of each other. A lot of people will get into a relationship in VR without really knowing someone, which will lead it to fail but me and Timeless got to know each other before, and we were both very dedicated to making it work.
"As time went on, we then started to watch movies together in VR, and because we had full body tracking suits, we would do VR cuddles and kisses, which would feel real because of a thing called phantom sense, which tricks your mind and body into really feeling it.
“We would go on dates to VR restaurants and because of this app called DoorDash, we would be able to order in and eat the same food. We then developed a habit of about 8pm, every day, coming home from school or work, going on VR chat, spending our time on there, and at the end of the day calling each other on Discord, and fallling asleep on there.
“We even adopted cats together by going to the animal shelter, video calling, and picking the ones we wanted, and now they are here with us at our apartment.
“Then one evening we were watching the movie insidious in VR, and Timeless turned to me and said, ‘how do you feel about dating because I have feelings for you and enjoy spending time together’ and I said yes.
“I said yes because even though we were thousands of miles away from each other, VR tricks your brain into thinking they are there, making the challenge of long-distance so much easier.”
6 months after Zora and Timeless met on the virtual gameshow they got the opportunity to meet in Florida, so they removed their headsets, put down their controllers, and jumped at the chance of seeing each other in the real world.
The Holiday started in Knoxville (Tennessee) because I’m scared of flying, so Timeless met me there.”
“To start I was completely silent, not knowing what to say, trying to hide my face, very few words were said but then he kissed me, and that was the icebreaker because after that we just started talking about what we wanted to do and where we wanted to eat.
“So, we went and got food at a Chinese Buffet restaurant, because Timeless is a fussy eater, only eating chicken strips, and after eating we went to the hotel for the night before driving down to Florida.
“I was surprised because not much was different from how both of us were in VR, it was nice, the only difference was the physical aspect.
“In VR, we did erotic role play (EPR), using full body tracking suits, making the movements as if we were having sex, and then to make it feel even more realistic we bought a Lovense, which is a sex toy for long-distance relationships, which you use your phone to control, however, sex is very different in real life.”
“When in Florida, we watched movies, spent time with Timeless’ family, went to the beach, Universal Studios, and Harry Potter land, which was a surprise for me. We also got on some Monster Trucks, went to the flea market, and every time we went out for food, he got chicken strips.
“It was after this time together that we decided we wanted to live with each other. Whenever he would drop me off, I cried, and he would never let me see him cry, but he cried too, and when in VR it was never the same because we were used to seeing each other, and that made the relationship very hard.
“So, after months of planning, buying plane tickets, and renting moving trucks, I made the decision to move to Nebraska to be with Timeless, it was a huge choice, and one I didn’t believe was happening until the day before.
16 hours and 1,000 miles later, a relationship that was forged within the dimensions of a computer-based reality, was uploaded to the real world. Zora and Timeless were no longer a virtual couple.
“We rent a one-bedroom apartment, in Omaha, on one of the roads in the city centre, and Timeless’ mum lives down the street.
“She was a little hesitant at first, but she’s kind of accepted, and said ‘hey you know what, if this makes you happy, that is what matters,’ now she always offers her help to us, asking us round her house, we even text sometimes.
“As for me and Timeless, it’s been tough moving in together, we both have our habits that are taking some time to get used to. My sleeping pattern is really bad, and I go to bed late, between 4-6am, which is when he gets up for college.
“Timeless himself is messy, always leaving his stuff everywhere, and I’m constantly cleaning up for him, but we love each other, and as we did in VR, taking the time to get to know each other, we’ll do the same in real life, taking the time to get used to each other’s faults, learning to love them.
“In the end, I want nothing more than for us to work out, but if we don’t, I’m still grateful for VR because it’s changed how I see dating. Before VR I had only dated women, but when I found VR, I learned to fall in love with personality, realising that it’s not all about what a person looks like, but what’s inside that truly counts.”
For Zora and Timeless, who knows what the future holds, there is only one thing certain and that is that VR holds a place in the dating world for years to come.
Much like online dating in the late 90s and early 2000s, people are sceptical and turn their noses up at the idea but if the technology becomes more popular and the idea becomes destigmatised, then you could quite possibly be finding true love in a false world.