The woman 'married' to a fairground ride, the lady who eats bricks and a Pamela Anderson obsessive: New TV series documents the strangest addictions
- Linda, 56, is 'happily married' to a Sky Diver fairground ride called Bruce
- Has objectum sexual, an orientation in which people find objects attractive
- Patrice Benjamin-Ramgoolam, 29, is addicted to eating bricks
- Carolyn Anderson has undergone repeated operations to look like he Baywatch star - and is determined to have yet more surgery
Most women look for a handsome, successful, dependable man to be their husband.
But Linda Ducharme, of Tampa, Florida, has decided to forgo relationships with men for those with metal.
The 56-year-old is 'happily married' to a skydiver carnival called Bruce - as she is sexually attracted to objects.
'His name is Bruce and we’ve know each other since 1981,' she said.
‘Some women like tall men, some women like men with big personalities and he’s go all of that. Bruce is just amazing when he stands up.’
For those struggling to follow, she means when he is up and running - and not packed away of season.
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Linda Ducharme, 56, has married an Sky Diver fairground ride called Bruce, who does not currently work. She has objectum sexual, an orientation in which a person finds inanimate objects attractive
Bruce (pictured) does not currently work. Since their wedding, she has spent $90,000 (£59,000) to make him functional, but it is likely to cost another $60,000 (£39,490) to fix him properly
'I don’t want him to be human, I don’t want him to have those traits. I’m just happy with this hunk of steel that’s shaped into being this beautiful shining star.'
Mrs Ducharme, who appears on TLC's My Strange Addictions premiere, has objectum sexual (OS), emotional, romantic or sexual relationships with objects.
There is little data on this phenomenon, but most agree it is an orientation rather than a medical condition.
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Her first relationship was an aeroplane, and her last relationship before Bruce was with a locomotive.
Then, in 1981, she saw Bruce for the first time as a carnival drove him into town.
After falling in love at first sight, she became employed by the carnival to be with Bruce, and spent every day with him.
After their romance grew, she had to take a leave of absence to work on another fairground ride.
The show reveals how she bought Bruce a mizpah coin – a promise of devotion between two loves in a time of struggle – and put it around one of his metal spokes.
WHAT IS OBJECTUM SEXUAL?
Erika Eiffel, an object-sexual, married Paris's Eiffel Tower in 2007
Professor Craig Jackson, a psychologist at Birmingham City University, told MailOnline: 'Objectum Sexual (OS) is not something that appears in medical or diagnostic procedures used by doctors.
'Human sexuality is a complex issue and most social scientists accept that there is much more to understanding sexuality than people being either male or female, or gay, straight or bisexual.
'Simple binary distinctions of what we think people should be attracted to, and how they "label themselves" are fading.
'A simple understanding of sexuality is that a growing number of people in society do not view themselves as either male or female.
'Many see themselves as something in between, although even they themselves are sometimes not sure of what to call their own gender.
'They themselves may not be sure of what or who they really are themselves in gender-terms; a heterosexual woman may not truly identify herself as being 100% female, but she may not necessarily be able to fully explain what the complement of her gender is made of: neither "maleness" nor something else.
'More people are also feeling more certain of their gender-uncertainties and feel able to live in accordance with it and to deny it no longer.
'They are certain that they don't feel the same way that they are supposed to and that they have always felt "different".'
He added: 'This broadening of accepted gender possibilities by many also applies to their sexual and emotional attractions and the fluidity of what is permissible.
'OS is merely an extension of this broadening and non-binary state of gender identity. Sometimes such OS, especially when involving inanimate objects or common machines and appliances is clinically referred to as 'mechaphilia' - but this cold and clinical diagnostic label assumes that it is a problem for the "sufferer".
'But as the case of Linda shows, OS need not necessarily be viewed as problematic or clinically troubling.
'The individual in the OS relationship seems perfectly happy and content in their love, and is able to rationally explain their feelings and history with their object(s).
'Aside from OS individuals struggling to understand themselves, most difficulties seem to occur in how other people outside of the relationship, or those who know the human, deal with or refer to the relationship and the object or partner.
'What should the object be called? Him, it, that or they? Such pronouns and prefixes can be a real stumbling point for many people; and even those who are attempting to be sensitive and non-judgemental to OS issues can easily get confused.
'Other complications involve how such OS marriages and relationships are recognised and dealt with by the state, church, society, or even employers.
'Those in OS relationships, like those of us in traditional relationships, invariably do not harm others, and are mostly attempting to live their lives as best they can, and are trying to understand their own sexualities.
'They are a courageous bunch and should be respected for coming to terms with who they are, rather than opting for an easier life of standard heterosexuality and "quiet desperation".'
To her devastation, when she returned, Bruce had been toppled over in a storm and was broken.
She was so heartbroken, she had to leave the carnival.
Around 26 years later, she decided to track down her true love.
She said: ‘I had a friend and he found the ride. I owned Bruce within 24 hours of knowing he was on sale.’
The mizpah coin she left with Bruce in 1986 was still there, tied to a red and white plait of ribbons.
‘That was a highly emotional moment,’ she said.
‘We lost 26 years together,’ she says, choking with emotion.
She decided to do a ceremony to wed herself to Bruce, although it is not legally binding.
Since their wedding, she has spent $90,000 (£59,000) to make him functional, but he still doesn’t work, and it is likely to cost another $60,000 (£39,490) to fix him properly.
She says she can go inside Bruce's main carriage to have candlelit dinners with him, and share more ‘private moments’ without her neighbours staring.
She said: ‘I feel closer to Bruce spending the nights with him. The sexuality is not the driving motivation. It’s a love affair between flesh and steel. We’re a sweet old couple.
‘Now I have a reason to get up every day.’
However, she does admit she is yearning to spend time with a working ride - and at one point gives into her urges and boards a working Sky Diver.
‘I can’t stop smiling,' she says as she strokes the metalwork.
‘I get a little bit excited there. I lose my composure,’ she said.
She adds that she is not being unfaithful by riding on another ride.
She said: ‘I’m a very monogamous person, I’ve made a commitment to Bruce, so I’m not going to jump the new ride in town and say I want that.’
THE WOMAN ADDICTED TO EATING BRICKS
Some people drink a coffee for breakfast, others crave a full fry up.
But 29-year-old Patrice Benjamin-Ramgoolam, from London, starts the day with some brick scraped from her bedroom wall.
Miss Benjamin-Ramgoolam, 29, said: 'When I eat brick its like giving a drug to a drug addict. You feel good for a while, until you need it again.
'I crave it, I’ve always got to have it.'
Patrice Benjamin-Ramgoolam, 29, has eaten a ton of bricks over the past 12 years. She suffers from Pica, a condition characterised by the desire to eat items with little or no nutritional value
Patrice started eating bricks in her late teens, after her grandma told her that her auntie and uncle used to pick at the wall and taste it.
One day she tried it for herself, and found she couldn’t really stop.
Over the past 12 years, Patrice has eaten half a ton of bricks.
She eats brick from the bedroom, the bathroom and her grandmother’s bedroom, which now has a huge patch of wallpaper and a three foot wall missing where Patrice has picked away at it.
In her own room, she hides a hole in the wall under a poster of lilac flowers.
She has been diagnosed with pica – the desire to eat items that have little or no nutritional value, such as dirt or paint.
Pica can cause a range of serious complications if the patient is eating something that is poisonous or indigestible.
However, Patrice doesn't believe she is in any danger.
She said: 'So far I have no physical problems from eating brick and even my teeth are in good shape.
‘It goes out the way it came in.’
However, Dr Anton Bungay, gastroentereologist warns that brick is made of raw materials like clay and sand.
Ingesting it can cause intestinal blockage and fractured teeth, he said.
He added: ‘Paint products, particularly older ones, have quite a lot of lead in them.
‘Lead poisoning – there are important effects on the brain, nervous system, abdominal pain, kidney disease. I would like you to try stopping this habit.’
In light of his advice, as part of TLC's My Strange Addiction programme, Patrice attempts to stop eating brick for two weeks.
She said: ‘I don’t know how I’m going to cope.’
‘I’m not going to sprinkle it on the chips or anything.’
The film shows her delighted husband, who tries to support her through her cravings to pick at the walls.
However, she soon gives into her hunger, and is unable to follow her doctor's plan.
At the end of the film, it is revealed she has reverted back to eating bricks daily.
My Strange Addiction premieres Thursday 26th November, 10pm on TLC
'I'M OBSESSED WITH LOOKING LIKE PAMELA ANDERSON'
With her golden tan, plumped breasts and lips and bleach blonde hair extensions it would be easy to mistake 31-year-old Carolyn for Baywatch star Pamela Anderson.
And that's exactly what the Liverpudlian lookalike is hoping for, having spent more than £26,000 on surgery and cosmetic procedures to emulate her favourite celebrity.
As well as getting Botox, lip fillers, teeth whitening, permanent make up, hair extensions and false eyelashes Ms Anderson, who changed her surname by deed poll, regularly injects herself with Melanotan II an unregulated tanning drug.
She has also been using sunbeds since the tender age of 10-years-old, now spending up to 15 hours a week in her father's sunbed shop.
But the most expensive - and dangerous - transformation of them all was when she had surgery to enlarge her breasts.
Carolyn Anderson has spent more than £26,000 to look like Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson. Her breast implants became infected and she required six operations to fix them - but she still wants more surgery
'My boobs have been Pamified,' she says, appearing on TLC's My Strange Addictions.
'I got implants in 2006, got an internal infection in one of them.'
The infection required nine operations to
Doctors warn the risks of repeated cosmetic surgery include infection, swelling and permanent tissue damage.
However, this has not deterred Ms Anderson, and she is considering further surgery.
'I would like to get a second pair of implants ot take me to an E or an F,' she said.
'I’ve never wanted to stop pursuing my goal. I was always going to procede despite the cost.'
Ms Anderson currently performs as 'scouse Pammy' in local bars clubs and at events in Liverpool.
But she has always wanted to follow in her idol's footseps and go to Hollywood.
As part of the programme Ms Anderson is sent to LA to see the beach where the real Pamela performed in Baywatch.
She meets Pamela's co-star, Alexandra Paul, who played Stephanie Holden in Baywatch.
Ms Paul is amazed by how much she looks like her friend, and congratulates her on
'I think it’s great that you took something you admire and worked hard to take the best bits,' she said.
‘They say imitation is the highest form of flattery.’
Ms Paul puts her in touch with Hollywood casting agents, in front of whom Ms Anderson performs her 'Scouse Pammy' act.
They advise that she would be best leaving the caricatured act behind, and try to act more authentically as Carolyn, rather than Pamela Anderson.
One agent said: ‘Carolyn is adorable. But I think the person she’s chosen to be is yesterday.’
Again, Ms Anderson decided to heed the advice.
She said:‘I will never be done being scouse Pammy because if that happened a part of Carolyn Anderson would die.’
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