How to Have an Imaginary Boyfriend or Girlfriend

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Create your partner beforehand.

   Have a firm grasp of who they are, where they’re from, what they do, etc. before sharing them with anyone.
   
   Know exactly how you met and what the two of you have done together since then.
   
   Rehearse your story until you know it backwards and forwards.
   
   Don’t give yourself away by taking the time to think up lies on the spot., Expect people to ask questions about them.
   
   Keep your answers grounded in what you know for sure.Invent a backstory for your partner based on places and cultures you’re already familiar with.
   
   Either give your imaginary partner an upbringing similar to your own so you can speak about it with authority, or model them on someone you know well enough to "borrow" a plausible background, like a best friend, roommate, or cousin.
   
   For instance, if you’re Irish Catholic and know nothing about Asian cultures, don’t have an imaginary partner who’s Asian, since other people would expect you to have learned at least a little something about your partner’s beliefs and practices.
   
   Instead, use someone you know fairly well to fill in all those gaps.
   
   Say you have a good friend who's Italian and also Catholic.
   
   Since you share the same religious background, make your partner a Catholic Italian, too.
   
   Then use what you know about your friend's family life as a template for your imaginary partner's. , Bolster stories about your partner with real details.
   
   If you tell people about a date or day-trip that you went on with your partner, use places that you’ve actually been to.
   
   Misdirect their attention by talking more about the places you’ve gone together, rather than the person who went with you.For example, if you’re telling a story about a dinner date, shift the focus away from your partner by talking about the food you ate or something funny that really happened at another table.
   
   If you claim to have gone together to some event that you actually went to by yourself (like a movie, show, or concert), talk more about the event itself.
   
   Let your partner "borrow" your own honest reactions.
   
   For instance, if you've telling someone about a really bad sci-fi movie that you saw together, say something like, "The special effects were so bad, Rick almost choked on his popcorn because he was laughing so hard," if that's really how bad they were.
   
   Establish that "Rick" was with you, but keep the focus on the movie that the two of you went to instead of on him. , When you create your imaginary partner, think of why no one else in your life ever has a chance to meet them.
   
   Give your partner a demanding job with odd hours.
   
   Have them live near enough for the two of you to have a relationship, but not close enough to come hang out just because your friends or family asked you to invite them.
   
   Give your partner a large demanding family of their own, for whom they have to do this on Saturday, that on Sunday, and the other thing next weekend. , Come up with one story (“The Tale of My Amazing New Partner”) and stick to that one story with everyone you know.
   
   Even if you don’t expect, say, your work-friends to ever meet your school-friends, remember the world’s a small place.
   
   One of your work-friends might have a sister who dates the roommate of one of your school-friends, or something like that.
   
   Assume everyone you know will meet everyone else you know at some point, so don’t spread any inconsistencies for them to piece together later on.
   
   Keep a diary of your imaginary relationship! Track what the two of you did and when.
   
   Add as much detail as you like.
   
   Use it for reference in case you become fuzzy on the details later on.
   
   Either keep it on the computer so you can go back and add new details as they come to you, or create new entries in your journal about how you’re remembering a certain day with your partner.
   
   Either way, writing stuff down will help you remember it in the long run., Think of the background that you’ve already given to your imaginary partner.
   
   Now think of how current events might effect them.
   
   Prepare yourself for any random questions people may ask you.
   
   Of course you probably wouldn’t be able to answer every single question on your partner’s behalf, even if they were a real person, but have an idea of how their life may change when certain things happen.
   
   Let’s say you’re with your family for the holidays while your partner went back to their hometown of Boston to be with their own.
   
   Check the weather and such in Boston, just in case there’s a freak blizzard.
   
   Or say you’ve told everyone that your partner’s a real estate agent.
   
   Keep an ear out for any news of a crash in the housing market or anything like that. , If you’re only trying to fool a small audience (like your parents or an ex), ask people you know and trust to back your story up.Coach them on who your partner is: what they look like, how they interact with people, what they like and don’t like to talk about.
   
   Come up with shared memories of times you all went out together as a group.
   
   Give your partner a real witness who will claim to have actually met them. , First, create an email account for your partner, since a lot of other social media will require one to open an account with them.
   
   Then open other accounts with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or whatever else is used by people you wish to fool.
   
   Create profiles with your partner’s information.
   
   Then connect their account with yours (“friend” each other, “follow” each other, etc).
   
   Start a dialogue between the two accounts for others to see.Be inventive with photos.
   
   For your partner’s profile pic, use images of their interests.
   
   If they’re a surfer, use a photo of a monster wave, or if he’s a horror fan, use a pic of Bela Lugosi as Dracula.
   
   When you want to share photos of your dates, post pictures of the sites you see: a sunset, a lighthouse, the marquee of the theater you’re going to, etc.
   
   Distinguish their text from yours.
   
   Don’t write in the same “voice.” Have them use abbreviations that you don’t use (“r” vs. “are”), or vice versa.
   
   Give them a simple catchphrase or two (“Whaddup”) or a signature name they call everyone (“bud” or “peeps”).
   
   Link your partner’s account with other people’s.
   
   Don’t raise red flags by being the only person who’s connected to your partner.
   
   If you’re only trying to fool certain people like an ex or your parents, ask friends you trust to “friend” or “follow” your partner’s account and interact with it online.
   
   If not, stick to platforms like Twitter, which links people with common interests, and avoid others like Facebook, which is more for connecting with people you already know.Create your partners’ accounts sooner rather than later.
   
   Build some history for other people to see before telling anyone about it.
   
   Let other people see this new person in your life on your own page before you announce that you have a new partner. , Since it's always easier to tell the truth than tell a lie, use the truth to maintain your story if anyone doubts it.Should they come right out and ask if you really have a partner, roll your eyes and say incredulously, "Oh yeah, of course, I sat in my room, dreamed this person up, created a backstory for them, invented dates we never went on, etc, etc," as though the truth is simply too impossible to believe.
   
   Avoid giving away any tells or signs of guilt that usually come with lying.
   
   Tread lightly if your secret is found out for sure.
   
   Depending on who you've told this story to and why, explain why you felt it was necessary to try and fool them.
   
   For example, if you've told your family you have a partner just so they would stop asking if you had found someone, open a conversation about how much they pressure you to find someone, to the point that making someone up seemed like the best solution to you.
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   Step 2: Keep your partner believable.

3. 3

   Step 3: Use the truth whenever possible.

4. 4

   Step 4: Give a good reason for their absence.

5. 5

   Step 5: Be consistent.

6. 6

   Step 6: Keep your partner up-to-date.

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   Step 7: Enlist someone you trust to help.

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   Step 8: Give your partner an online presence.

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   Step 9: Deflect suspicion with sarcasm.

Detailed Guide

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