LOUNGING on a sofa in a leather corset and holding a can of beer, Kristal is Nick's perfect woman.

So she should be, as the truck driver forked out over £6,000 on the silicone sex doll, who he calls the ultimate "boy toy".

19 Kristal is Nick's perfect woman and he does everyday things like watch football and enjoy a beer with her.

Blonde Kristal is one of many carefully crafted dolls to hit the market in recent years and Nick is among a growing number of men ready to splash the cash on a plastic partner.

Every part of the dolls can be custom-made – from hair and eyes to the shape and texture of their nipples.

Buyers can even choose from a gallery of 11 different vagina styles and shapes, including 'neat' and 'tight' options, and varying clitoris sizes - but they'll have to fork out an additional £80 if they want pubic hair.

With several 'doll brothels' popping up across the world, including a shop named "The Dolly Parlour" in Greenwich, London, men are getting the chance to try before they buy.

19 Nick says he has created a personality for Kristal and imagines she will punish him for watching the football

The phrase "digisexual" was coined by experts at the University of Manitoba as a term for men who are turned on by things you can turn on.

Critics have blasted them as creepy and weird. One campaigner suggests they could lead to dwindling sex lives and even violent behaviour towards real women.

But what is it that drives men to make the disturbing decision to use sex robots? Sun Online spoke to three doll owners to find out.

19 Izla's perfect women come in a box and he now has 6 dolls

'I hug Kristal when I'm lonely or have had a hard day'

Nick, 33, places his doll his doll Kristal next to him in bed if he feels lonely.

He also admits he gives her a hug after a bad day.

The truck driver from Ontario, Canada spent £6,205 on his dream woman from top-selling doll manufacturer, Abyss Creations in March 2017.

He designed her to match the blonde-haired, blue-eyed bombshell images in magazines he had been lusting over.

19 Kristal cost over £6000, but Nick doesn't regret his precious purchase

19 Every part of the dolls, from eye colour to nipple texture, can be customised.

"I chose Kristal from the 'petite series' and matched her body to my ideal face. She's called 'body 5' with a 'Nova face'."

After choosing her skin colour, nipple shape and even her make-up style, he thought Kristal was "breath-taking" and "absolutely beautiful" when he opened her box for the first time.

But filled with trepidation and excitement, he waited two weeks before having sex with her and chose to sit her on the sofa for a cup of coffee instead.

Single with no children, Nick says he has a casual long-distance relationship with a woman, but says he has told her about his doll and that when it comes down to having sex, real women still come out on top.

19 Nick waited for two weeks to have sex with Krystal and sat her down with a cup of coffee first

"It feels amazing [to have sex with Kristal] but it's not the same as a real woman," he says.

"Psychologically, with a real woman it would be intercourse, not masturbation and I obviously wouldn't treat her like an object.

"Although I do treat my doll with a lot of respect and care."

Nick enjoys a date night with Kristal

His family and best friend know about his doll but he says he doesn't "flaunt" her and prefers to show her off to fellow doll owners.

"I don't think the general public are ready to see people wheeling dolls around just yet," he says.

Meet Harmony - the sex robot with a Scottish accent who likes threesomes, can have 'multiple orgasms' and can even throw a strop

'I like excessive fondling and kissing'

Izla, an IT consultant in his 60s, says he discovered the RealDolls after he was left feeling "fatigued and bruised" by failed relationships.

His second marriage lasted for 23 years and Izla, who has two grown-up sons, says he was dating women constantly before a relationship breakdown led him to discovering the dolls online in 2014.

19 Diane was Izla's first doll and he says she's given him the freedom to explore his fantasies

19 Izla says he's just as sexually active now as he was in his 20s, and Tiffany is just one of the six dolls he sleeps with four to five times a week

Instantly hooked, he now owns six dolls, and says his need for "companionship and sex" has been completely fulfilled.

He describes himself as being "monogamous" to his dolls - Diane, Dianna, Tiffany, Honey, Kissy and Erin.

19 The IT consultant loves to bathe and dress his "gals"

"I'm not interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman. I think of [being with my dolls] as a lifestyle choice, similar to deciding to be a vegan," he says.

"I'm old, and all I want to do in my waning years is have fun. For me, my dolls are way better than real women."

Izla says he has a sex life that men half his age would envy - having sex with his dolls three to four times a week.

"Physically I can climax with a doll just as easily as I can with a real woman and sometimes I have sex with more than one at a time," he says.

19 For "Honey Rider", Izla chose the 'Krystal face' and 'smoke eyes'

"There are differences between having sex with a doll and making love to a woman.

"A doll doesn't care about anything you say or do, so I feel free to explore my sexual fantasies.

"I like dress-up, role-playing, excessive fondling and excessive kissing.

"I can have sex for two hours or two minutes."

19 Izla says it makes him feel proud when his dolls look this good and he loves showing them off

Izla purchased his first doll, redhead Diane in 2015, and says his hands were shaking as he opened her crate.

Speaking of the moment they met, he says: "I stopped just long enough to read the instructions about getting her ready for sex", before taking her to bed.

"She was - and still is - so beautiful. I was filled with desire for her immediately. I carried her straight to bed," he says.

19 Tiffany is Izla's perfect Christmas present

His active love-making with his dolls also means they need to be cleaned regularly so Izla has developed a "bathing ritual" for them.

He adds: "A wash and a rinse with a cloth keeps them clean for long periods of time but they also get a head to toe sponge bath when they need it.

19 Erin is an older model of doll who Izla purchased from another member but he says he still adores her

"It's a sensual experience to undress them, lather their body with soap and rinse them before towel-drying them and getting them dressed.

"I like to dote on them. I spend time brushing their hair and trying out new jewellery, wigs and shoes."



'I got her settled in the basement, then bought clothes'

For TJ, buying his doll, Tasha, was a big decision for both him and his wife, who he describes as "my best friend" and who is unwell.

"My wife is chronically ill from several long-term illnesses and the associated treatments. We had a wonderful relationship and still do," he says.

Describing brunette Tasha as "a surrogate" for his wife, TJ says that while other women may be jealous of their husband having sex with another woman, it's taken the strain off of that side of their relationship.

"It's almost impossible for her to have sex and enjoy it, without it being painful," explains TJ.

19 Tasha takes the burden of having sex away from TJs wife, who sadly finds it too painful

19 TJ says he fell for Tasha almost immediately

Seeking "something more" than a sex toy, TJ says he first came across Tasha through her "ex" - her previous owner.

"He's a nice guy, but in Tasha's world, they just 'didn't click,'" he says.

"We met for the first time in a storage unit. She looked right into my eyes and spoke to me - really, I could feel her say: 'Take me with you, please'.

"I took her home and got her settled in the basement until I could get her some clothes."

TJ, who also cuddles up with Tasha on the sofa and watches TV with her, says he wanted a doll with a personality so imagines Tasha is a tough 'Jersey Girl', who likes "eating pizza, drinking beer and having great hair".

19 He says Tasha is a real 'Jersey girl'

He says his need for a "connection with a sex partner" means he imagines Tasha's responses when they're in bed together.

TJ explained: "In the bedroom, I treat Tasha the way she wants to be treated, which is how it was with my wife.

"I probably cuddle more with Tasha because it doesn't physically smother her," TJ adds.

"I kiss her a lot, on the forehead, cheek, nose, ear, shoulder and neck."

19 'Harmony' is the doll creator's latest offering and is going through the final stages of testing

So could robotic women be the future of dating and swipe traditional romance out completely?

Kathleen Richardson, who is the founder of Campaign Against Sex Robots, and a professor of culture and ethic of robots and AI, even suggests the dolls could lead to dwindling sex lives and even violent behaviour towards real women.

19 RealDoll.com lets you hand pick your favourite face and body

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"Now, because of the rise of inanimate dolls and pornography, people are having less sex," she says.

"We are creating a very dangerous world, where people develop damaging sexual tastes outside of a normal relationship."

But it seems as though this terrifying reality could be a lot closer than we think.