SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Erika, a 36-year old ex-soldier, fell in love with and married the Eiffel Tower! And she’s not the only person out there to have fallen in love with a building.

Erika La Tour Eiffel held a wedding ceremony next to the tower last year to pledge her eternal love for the monument. But she is not totally naive to the difficulties of their relationship. “There is a huge problem with being in love with a public object,” she said. “The issue of intimacy – or rather lack of it – is forever present.”

Erika is part of a group of about 40 people in the world who have decided they are Objectum-Sexual, meaning that they only wish to be in relationships with objects. Some are in love with small items, like radios or fences, while others prefer large landmarks.

Eija-Riitta Berliner-Mauer was the first prominent OS member, after she married the Berlin Wall in 1979. “I just don’t understand how some people can bring someone into the world like a child – an object – and then not love them,” she explained. “I am the Berlin Wall. Hate me, try to break me apart, but I will still be here, standing.”

At least half of the OS members suffer from Aspergers Syndrome, which can make it difficult to form relationships with other people. Jerry Brooker, a psychotherapist featured in the documentary, “The Woman Who Married the Eiffel Tower”, explains, “Someone who falls in love with objects can control that relationship on their own terms. Their objects will not let them down. That is extremely attractive for a person who is otherwise often desperately lonely.”