I Secretly Archived a Stranger's Entire Life For 7 Years

On today's episode, Sarah talks with Liam, a man whose quiet life as a university archivist took a dark turn into the digital world. It began with an innocent online friendship, but spiraled into a seven-year-long obsession with a complete stranger. Liam shares the meticulous, secret archive he built of a woman's life, documenting her travels, her friendships, and even the brand of paint she used, all without her ever knowing he existed. It's a story about loneliness in the internet age and the blurred lines between observation and obsession. But this isn't just a story about a dark secret; it's about the slow, painful journey back to reality. Liam walks us through the crushing moment of self-awareness that forced him to confront his empty existence, and the small, almost random event that sparked a change. He talks about the difficult process of deleting his digital ghost and the awkward, tentative steps he took to start building a life of his own, frame by frame, in the real world. Stories are works of fiction and dramatized based on inspired events. Names, places and details are changed for privacy and are not true events. Produced with AI assistance.