Bravo reality star Craig Conover said he supplements in-person therapy sessions with a controversial mental health tool, ChatGPT, following his break-up with ex-girlfriend Paige DeSorbo.
Calling the AI the “best therapist in the world,” Conover’s comments about utilizing the LLM have people talking.
Why did Craig Conover and Paige DeSorbo break up?
The pair met on Bravo’s Summer House Season Four in 2019. They became closer and eventually entered a relationship during the filming of Winter House in 2021.
DeSorbo announced her split from Conover on her podcast, Giggly Squad, in December 2024. While DeSorbo initially insisted that the break-up was mutual, rumors quickly turned the situation messy.
She later clarified that she had first initiated the break-up during Thanksgiving. She cited alleged texts between Conover and other women as the reason for the breakup.
Rumors that DeSorbo cheated on Conover before the breakup also began to circulate. Conover did not immediately deny the cheating allegations, despite not starting them himself, much to DeSorbo’s frustration.
Is Conover using a ChatGPT therapist to heal?
On June 25, Conover appeared on The Toast podcast to share his side of the breakup, including revealing the ring he said he planned to propose with.
However, viewers were stunned by one way he is healing from the breakup.
“ChatGPT is the best therapist in the world,” he said in a clip shared to TikTok. “It remembers everything about you. It’s helped me through this breakup, and a couple of months ago, I finally got to those last tears.”
He clarified that he also sees a human therapist, whom he hasn’t told about his “side therapist” ChatGPT.
Can AI really act as a therapist?
While viewers raised eyebrows at Conover’s ChatGPT therapist, several Redditors shared anonymously that AI has significantly improved their mental health.
“I’ve been inpatient four times. Outpatient countless. I’ve seen therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists… we’re talking over 15 years of mental health care. And somehow… ChatGPT has helped me more than all of them combined,” a member of the r/ChatGPT subreddit shared. “It’s like having a therapist in my pocket.”
Another Redditor acknowledged concerns about patient privacy when sharing personal details about mental health, as ChatGPT isn’t bound to the confidentiality laws as a therapist.
However, they said, “With how bad some human therapists are and with how bad access to mental health care can be, I do think AI-based approaches have huge potential for good.”
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