Five years ago, 43-year-old Gaelle Engel began an exciting new relationship – and she happily admits that her partner has been taking her for a ride.
Now her home is plastered with photographs and souvenirs of the times she’s spent with the love of her life – who happens to be a German roller coaster, called Sky Scream.
Incredibly, she even has “children” with her thrilling lover – little model roller coasters that she has designed herself.
Gaelle is an objectophile – someone who feels a romantic connection to an inanimate object – and is happily loved-up with her big dipper.
However, there have been some ups and downs – the drawback is that Sky Scream is located 700 miles away from her home in Bordeaux, France, in a theme park in Hassloch, Germany, and she misses seeing her boyfriend.
Gaelle says, “I spend every moment dreaming of being able to make love with Sky Scream. He’s so sexy – and it’s since we met that I’ve realised what love really means.
“My kids with him are roller coaster models. I love them like babies, but there are no night feeds or nappy changes, which is a win!
“I just wish I could visit more often. It’s been particularly hard during the Covid-19 pandemic as theme parks have been shut – I imagine he must feel so lonely. But he’s always in my heart.”
Painter and poet Gaelle adds, “I’ve felt like this since I was 12. I had a difficult childhood and I was lonely at school because I was bullied.
“Theme parks were where I felt my happiest. I felt attracted to roller coasters, but couldn’t quite understand my emotions.”
It was only when she watched a video about American Erika Eiffel, who fell in love with and even married Paris landmark the Eiffel Tower, that Gaelle realised there was a term for her feelings and that she was an objectophile.
She says, “I was so happy to realise that I wasn’t alone. It made me feel much more comfortable with myself and how I felt.”
And when Gaelle first saw Sky Scream on a video in June 2016, she fell in love for the first time.
She says, “My emotions were so intense. I was immediately attracted to how he moved. I had never seen a coaster quite like it. I knew I had to meet him in person, so I travelled alone to Germany to meet him four months later.
“It was magical. I’d dreamt about him most nights since seeing the video, but seeing him in person was better than anything I could have imagined.”She has a pillow with the roller coaster’s picture on it
Sky Scream is a 45m-high coaster with a 41m drop and a top speed of up to 100mph.
Gaelle says, “He’s so fast, going forwards but then shooting backwards and turning upside-down, corkscrew style.
“The first time I heard the sound of him moving on the rails, my heart started pounding with excitement. It was the biggest roar and then a whoosh as he went faster. It was incredible. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Such a magnificent sight. I knew he was the one for me and always would be.”
Gaelle has had relationships with men in the past, but sadly they’ve never worked out. But she believes that, even if they had been successful, she’d still be attracted to objects.
She says, “The bond is so powerful. I am just sad that I can’t consummate my relationship, but when I am riding him it gives me such a thrill and I feel close to him.
“At home I have a pillow with his picture printed on which I hug all night long. Sex isn’t a priority in my relationships. Instead, I have a whole collection of memorabilia that I bought from the theme park to remind me of our times together.”
Gaelle also creates model works of various roller coasters, which are on display around her home, and it’s because of these creations that she feels the two have made their own family.
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She says, “There are some models that I made that are totally new inventions. Sky Scream inspired me to make them, so they are our children – Kissi and La Liebe. I chat to them all the time and adore them.”
And Gaelle hopes that when restrictions ease in Europe and she is able to travel to see Sky Scream again, she’ll be able to introduce the “children” to their “dad.” She says, “It will be a special day.”
Gaelle’s family and friends now accept her objectophilia, but she admits they struggled to come to terms with it.
She says, “Objectophilia is a different way of thinking, of living and of loving. It’s up to others to open their minds up more instead of judging. When I was a teenager I had to fight for friends and family to accept my love for roller coasters. But now everyone understands that I’ve found true passion and love with Sky Scream, so they’re happy for me.”