Did a Woman Marry the Eiffel Tower and Divorce It for a Fence?
Erika Eiffel, born Erika LaBrie, first caught global media attention in 2008. The previous year, she held a symbolic commitment ceremony with the Eiffel Tower. The ceremony took place in Paris, with friends in attendance, and she later legally changed her last name to Eiffel to reflect that personal bond.
Governments in both the United States and France do not legally recognize marriages involving objects, so her ceremony held emotional and symbolic value rather than legal standing. Erika publicly identifies as objectum-oriented, a term used for people who form deep emotional or romantic bonds with objects. In 2008, she helped launch a support network created to connect people with similar identities and provide education for families and the public.
During the late 2000s, media coverage and a 2008 documentary titled “Married to the Eiffel Tower” amplified her story worldwide, and that documentary later became a major source of viral clips that resurfaced years later.
How The Fence Story Went Viral
The fence rumor did not start with a new relationship announcement, but grew out of documentary footage recorded in 2008. In that footage, Erika discussed her attraction to geometric shapes and said she found fences visually appealing. She touched a red fence and said she liked its angles and structure. Years later, short clips resurfaced on social media without full context, suggesting that she left the Eiffel Tower and pursued a fence instead.
By 2022, major viral accounts and aggregation sites repeated the claim. Some reports even speculated that she had spent 15 years “married” to the Eiffel Tower before switching partners. That framing ignored the ceremony’s symbolic nature and treated it like a legal marriage timeline.
What Erika Eiffel Actually Said
Image via Getty Images/anilakkus
Erika has directly pushed back against the fence relationship narrative. She stated she never had a romantic relationship with a fence. She explained she admired their geometry and design, but did not form a bond like the one she described with the Eiffel Tower.
She also clarified that, over time, media coverage added sensational angles that distorted her story. In later interviews, she described her connection with the Eiffel Tower as emotional and spiritual rather than physical. She also said public attention made maintaining that connection difficult. At one point, she said the relationship changed years after the ceremony due to media pressure and public scrutiny, but she did not label that change as a divorce.
Why The Story Keeps Coming Back
Internet culture thrives on dramatic headlines and short video clips. Old documentary content often resurfaces without context, especially when tied to unusual or shocking topics. Erika’s story is at the center of identity, media fascination, and viral culture.
Similar viral stories involving people expressing attraction toward vehicles, planes, or structures also fueled online discussion. Each viral cycle tends to simplify complex identities into headline-ready drama.