The AI-powered English dictionary
plural husbandos or husbandoes
(fandom slang) A fictional male character from non-live-action visual media (typically an anime, manga, or video game) to whom one is attracted and/or whom one considers their significant other. quotations
Just don't frequently mention her husbandos around her though, she'll be rendered speechless for hours. *cough* Loki *cough*
2018 July 5, “Kaye: Your Happy Pill”, in Bliss Digital Arts Batch 2018, archived from the original on 5 November 2021, page 131
For example, the otaku had popularized body pillows, a human-size pillow imprinted with the image of one's waifu (“wife”) or husbando (“husband”), the anime girl or boy to which the otaku imagines he or she is married.
2019, Dale Beren, It Came from Something Awful: How a Toxic Troll Army Accidentally Memed Donald Trump Into Office, page (unnumbered)
Those with waifus or husbandos are also more likely to feel a greater sense of belongingness to the anime fandom, a fandom which they're also more likely to consider to be unique compared to other fandoms.
2021, Stephen Reysen, Courtney N. Plante, Daniel Chadborn, Sharon E. Roberts, Kathleen C. Gerbasi, Transported to Another World: The Psychology of Anime Fans, page (unnumbered)