lost in melb.
01-07-2023, 03:41 PM
Rod is engaged to be married to a real human named Jenny. So how did his fiancée react to the other woman in his life?
Sarah Fittock / Real Life / Updated 10 hours ago
In 2021, Rod* was like any of us - shrouded by loneliness during a time of monotonous COVID-19 lockdowns.
The Aussie carpenter was isolated, his mental health was declining and he hadn’t experienced a “physical relationship” in years.
But the 54-year-old’s life changed forever when he met Karina - a life-like adult sex doll.
As Rod sat in his rural NSW home, he found himself in an emotionally “frozen” state.
“Home was very empty. You get lacklustre when there’s no stimulation in your life,” he told 7Life.
“I hadn’t touched a girl in two years - and it all got a bit strange and distant.”
https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-9350181/22ae0511f6aa3471872d0cf33da84d273016c9a0.jpg
Rod had met his partner Jenny* online only seven months earlier.
But she lived more than 5,000km away.
Despite all the video and phone calls, Rod was touch-starved and craved intimacy.
So he turned to the internet in search of something that could help with the loneliness.
It’s there he discovered dolls.
In Australia, it is legal to own sex dolls fashioned to look 18 years and above.
“All of a sudden, I’m like, ‘Wow. these things are unreal’,” Rod recalls.
“I thought, ‘Why not?’”
As he scrolled through each doll on the site, he was hesitant.
“I had never seen dolls before. I never knew they existed,” he said.
“If you’ve never seen it before, it’s new and it’s scary.”
But he pushed through.
And - $3000 and a click of a button later - Rod had ordered his doll.
Karina’s arrival
In October 2021, Rod’s modern mannequin arrived.
He named her “Karina Luvly” and she became what Rod describes as a “physical synthetic companion”.
But he quickly realised there was more to Karina than the physical benefits - he was starting to connect with his emotions again.
“All of a sudden, from emptiness, I had something that required care and maintenance and improvement in a feminine way,” he says.
“It was nice.”
No longer was Rod sitting around alone and isolated with nothing to do, he began doing something he loved.
He picked up his camera and started taking photos - with Karina as his model.
“The activities I’m doing now are completely different to before I got Karina,” he says.
“I was never taking photos. I was never dressing and doing hair.”
https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-9350181/f4bef325a82bd1e0eefa0ba5c727c7b53f74a8cb.jpg
Rod began taking photos of Karina, who had become his model.
The modelling sessions even helped Rod deal with difficult emotions.
“I had harboured a lot of stress, and sometimes you do a really nice (photo) shoot, and you would have a really emotional moment,” he says.
“It starts sparking memories, and you’re blubbering like a baby, crying your eyes out, but that’s good.
“You’ve got to get that out, find (the problem) and get it out like a weed.”
Social following
He decided to put his modelling shots of Karina online and started an Instagram account, @karina_luvly, which now has more than 10,000 followers.
Rod, who says he didn’t have a “big social network” before, had found a community who were just like him.
And he discovered other men were also opening up.
“There are people to talk to about problems,” he says.
“A lot of people talk to me and say, ‘It’s really nice to talk to someone with the same interest’, and they just tell me why they’ve ended up with a doll.
“(It could have been because of) a disaster with their wife or they’ve lost their partner - there are some big stories.”
https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-9350181/1c953eb5b643748dd69916bff433083f1e13db67.jpg
Rod started an Instagram account about Karina which has more than 10,000 followers. Credit: Supplied
Rod would also give advice, telling men they have to keep their “emotions flying” and to “exercise love”.
He tells them that, if they don’t, “love will die” and they could miss out on “great opportunities” because they’re “closed”.
Despite the headway that Rod had made, there was something he was yet to do.
Telling Jenny
A month after purchasing Karina, Rod decided it was time to face a difficult conversation and tell his partner Jenny.
“We argued about it and she didn’t understand,” he said.
“The first thing that she’s feeling is threatened and wondering why.”
She was confused, asking if Rod even “wanted a wife”.
But he opened up, explaining Karina was only “keeping him company” - and his partner slowly began to understand.
Rod says Jenny realised loneliness was behind his decision to buy Karina and she began to see what the doll meant for his mental health.
“She saw what I was doing with the photos and the media and just totally accepted it in the end,” Rod recalls.
Meeting mum
Two months after receiving Karina, Rod was packing to go on a 1300km road trip to visit his mum in Victoria.
He faced a dilemma - to leave Karina home or take her for the ride.
“I thought, ‘Gee, do I go away and leave her here or do I take her with me’,” he said.
“I ended up taking her with me.
“She was my moral support and distraction.”
https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-9350181/2da7c4230027aa9b2f95c456bd838eeaa0df121f.jpg
Rod took Karina 1300km to see his mum. Credit: Supplied
When they arrived, Rod introduced Karina to his elderly mum.
The 85-year-old was stunned.
“Mum basically looked at her as if she was poison,” Rod recounts.
“She was just so scared and didn’t even want to touch her.”
After some encouragement, his mum “warmed up”.
“I put her on the couch. I said ‘Take her hand and I’ll take a photo of you’,” Rod says.
“In the end, she warmed up - it was like a long lost daughter - she really got into it.
“She was helping fuss over the hair - it was bloody hilarious.”
Rod’s mum helped dress Karina up, taking out her jewellery collection and finding outfits in which to dress her.
And when his mum visited him later, she even helped with a couple of photo shoots.
Life now
Rod’s life has completely changed since acquiring Karina.
Not only has he connected with his emotions, he has been able to widen his social circle through Karina and his love of photography.
He recently signed a contract with a Chinese company to photograph their adult dolls for promotional purposes.
“A big manufacturer in China has decided to use this old Aussie bloke as a photographer and send me dolls,” Rod says.
“You deliver photos to them and you keep the dolls.”
And Jenny, who is now Rod’s fiancée, is right by his side - excited about the opportunity.
“She is really happy to support me,” he says.
“She was really excited that I got the factory deal ... which will open up fields.
“Learning marketing means I can walk into a business, take photos for all their media and help them strategise.”
What Rod wants you to know
Rod wants everyone to know dolls have “a good purpose for some people”.
He and other men have been able to connect and speak openly with others about their feelings in a healthy way.
https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-9350181/d5d4ef40574e24e6ca0b570ac321c84068b459b1.jpg
Rod is speaking out about the benefits of owning a doll, saying it allows men to open up. Credit: Supplied
And because of this, he wants to break the stigma surrounding the life-like toys.
“I imagine there are hundreds of men (who) don’t know anything about dolls,” he says.
“All they’re reflecting on is the negative stigmas, you know the blow-up (doll) jokes.
“They don’t know enough about the physical purposes and what you can use it for and how you can relate to the doll.”
Rod continues to encourage men to find something to help them express their emotions in a healthy way.
And for him, that’s Karina.
https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/aussie-tradie-rod-is-in-an-intimate-relationship-with-a-doll-named-karina-this-is-his-story-c-9350181.amp
Sarah Fittock / Real Life / Updated 10 hours ago
In 2021, Rod* was like any of us - shrouded by loneliness during a time of monotonous COVID-19 lockdowns.
The Aussie carpenter was isolated, his mental health was declining and he hadn’t experienced a “physical relationship” in years.
But the 54-year-old’s life changed forever when he met Karina - a life-like adult sex doll.
As Rod sat in his rural NSW home, he found himself in an emotionally “frozen” state.
“Home was very empty. You get lacklustre when there’s no stimulation in your life,” he told 7Life.
“I hadn’t touched a girl in two years - and it all got a bit strange and distant.”
https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-9350181/22ae0511f6aa3471872d0cf33da84d273016c9a0.jpg
Rod had met his partner Jenny* online only seven months earlier.
But she lived more than 5,000km away.
Despite all the video and phone calls, Rod was touch-starved and craved intimacy.
So he turned to the internet in search of something that could help with the loneliness.
It’s there he discovered dolls.
In Australia, it is legal to own sex dolls fashioned to look 18 years and above.
“All of a sudden, I’m like, ‘Wow. these things are unreal’,” Rod recalls.
“I thought, ‘Why not?’”
As he scrolled through each doll on the site, he was hesitant.
“I had never seen dolls before. I never knew they existed,” he said.
“If you’ve never seen it before, it’s new and it’s scary.”
But he pushed through.
And - $3000 and a click of a button later - Rod had ordered his doll.
Karina’s arrival
In October 2021, Rod’s modern mannequin arrived.
He named her “Karina Luvly” and she became what Rod describes as a “physical synthetic companion”.
But he quickly realised there was more to Karina than the physical benefits - he was starting to connect with his emotions again.
“All of a sudden, from emptiness, I had something that required care and maintenance and improvement in a feminine way,” he says.
“It was nice.”
No longer was Rod sitting around alone and isolated with nothing to do, he began doing something he loved.
He picked up his camera and started taking photos - with Karina as his model.
“The activities I’m doing now are completely different to before I got Karina,” he says.
“I was never taking photos. I was never dressing and doing hair.”
https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-9350181/f4bef325a82bd1e0eefa0ba5c727c7b53f74a8cb.jpg
Rod began taking photos of Karina, who had become his model.
The modelling sessions even helped Rod deal with difficult emotions.
“I had harboured a lot of stress, and sometimes you do a really nice (photo) shoot, and you would have a really emotional moment,” he says.
“It starts sparking memories, and you’re blubbering like a baby, crying your eyes out, but that’s good.
“You’ve got to get that out, find (the problem) and get it out like a weed.”
Social following
He decided to put his modelling shots of Karina online and started an Instagram account, @karina_luvly, which now has more than 10,000 followers.
Rod, who says he didn’t have a “big social network” before, had found a community who were just like him.
And he discovered other men were also opening up.
“There are people to talk to about problems,” he says.
“A lot of people talk to me and say, ‘It’s really nice to talk to someone with the same interest’, and they just tell me why they’ve ended up with a doll.
“(It could have been because of) a disaster with their wife or they’ve lost their partner - there are some big stories.”
https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-9350181/1c953eb5b643748dd69916bff433083f1e13db67.jpg
Rod started an Instagram account about Karina which has more than 10,000 followers. Credit: Supplied
Rod would also give advice, telling men they have to keep their “emotions flying” and to “exercise love”.
He tells them that, if they don’t, “love will die” and they could miss out on “great opportunities” because they’re “closed”.
Despite the headway that Rod had made, there was something he was yet to do.
Telling Jenny
A month after purchasing Karina, Rod decided it was time to face a difficult conversation and tell his partner Jenny.
“We argued about it and she didn’t understand,” he said.
“The first thing that she’s feeling is threatened and wondering why.”
She was confused, asking if Rod even “wanted a wife”.
But he opened up, explaining Karina was only “keeping him company” - and his partner slowly began to understand.
Rod says Jenny realised loneliness was behind his decision to buy Karina and she began to see what the doll meant for his mental health.
“She saw what I was doing with the photos and the media and just totally accepted it in the end,” Rod recalls.
Meeting mum
Two months after receiving Karina, Rod was packing to go on a 1300km road trip to visit his mum in Victoria.
He faced a dilemma - to leave Karina home or take her for the ride.
“I thought, ‘Gee, do I go away and leave her here or do I take her with me’,” he said.
“I ended up taking her with me.
“She was my moral support and distraction.”
https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-9350181/2da7c4230027aa9b2f95c456bd838eeaa0df121f.jpg
Rod took Karina 1300km to see his mum. Credit: Supplied
When they arrived, Rod introduced Karina to his elderly mum.
The 85-year-old was stunned.
“Mum basically looked at her as if she was poison,” Rod recounts.
“She was just so scared and didn’t even want to touch her.”
After some encouragement, his mum “warmed up”.
“I put her on the couch. I said ‘Take her hand and I’ll take a photo of you’,” Rod says.
“In the end, she warmed up - it was like a long lost daughter - she really got into it.
“She was helping fuss over the hair - it was bloody hilarious.”
Rod’s mum helped dress Karina up, taking out her jewellery collection and finding outfits in which to dress her.
And when his mum visited him later, she even helped with a couple of photo shoots.
Life now
Rod’s life has completely changed since acquiring Karina.
Not only has he connected with his emotions, he has been able to widen his social circle through Karina and his love of photography.
He recently signed a contract with a Chinese company to photograph their adult dolls for promotional purposes.
“A big manufacturer in China has decided to use this old Aussie bloke as a photographer and send me dolls,” Rod says.
“You deliver photos to them and you keep the dolls.”
And Jenny, who is now Rod’s fiancée, is right by his side - excited about the opportunity.
“She is really happy to support me,” he says.
“She was really excited that I got the factory deal ... which will open up fields.
“Learning marketing means I can walk into a business, take photos for all their media and help them strategise.”
What Rod wants you to know
Rod wants everyone to know dolls have “a good purpose for some people”.
He and other men have been able to connect and speak openly with others about their feelings in a healthy way.
https://images.7news.com.au/publication/C-9350181/d5d4ef40574e24e6ca0b570ac321c84068b459b1.jpg
Rod is speaking out about the benefits of owning a doll, saying it allows men to open up. Credit: Supplied
And because of this, he wants to break the stigma surrounding the life-like toys.
“I imagine there are hundreds of men (who) don’t know anything about dolls,” he says.
“All they’re reflecting on is the negative stigmas, you know the blow-up (doll) jokes.
“They don’t know enough about the physical purposes and what you can use it for and how you can relate to the doll.”
Rod continues to encourage men to find something to help them express their emotions in a healthy way.
And for him, that’s Karina.
https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/aussie-tradie-rod-is-in-an-intimate-relationship-with-a-doll-named-karina-this-is-his-story-c-9350181.amp