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A woman who works as an escort has warned against turning to sugar dating as people find themselves strapped for cash amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.
The warning comes as an anonymous on-and-off sugar baby has told Tyla that she has once again turned to sugar dating after 'feeling the pinch' from rising costs of living.
Explaining that she 'can't afford to heat [her] rented flat', Gigi, who began sugar dating during the pandemic, said the 'dangerous' practice is once again worth the risk.
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"It is dangerous," she admits. "You are meeting people in public but then you're going to their place or to a hotel and if your gut feeling is bad, leave straight away.
"Luckily, I've never had a bad experience."
She tells Tyla that while she has had some genuinely enjoyable dates, she ultimately sees it as a job, 'even if I'm drinking champagne while doing it'.
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"I'm giving them something they're buying," she explained.
Gigi says she filters out 'poorer' sugar daddies as she 'generally' only interacts with millionaires.
"They want to pay for what they want, but they want it to feel more real," she said. "The girlfriend experience."
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However, Crystal, who's also an escort, has warned against turning to sugar dating and described sugar daddies as 'cheapskates'.
Crystal said sugar dating is a way for men 'to get cheap escorts' and many people are unknowingly getting taken advantage of by so-called sugar daddies.
"It's the same kind of guys," Crystal said of the difference between her clients and sugar daddies. "The sugar daddies are the cheapskates and are a lot more predatory.
"They're looking for someone to perform sexual services cheaper than an escort, or guys who see themselves as above going to an escort.
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"It's just preying on naïve vulnerable girls who don't know any better."
She said this is especially the case for students and people who are strapped for cash, who might see £60 for a three-hour date without sex as a good deal.
Another sugar baby, who has also asked to remain anonymous and is using the pseudonym Ally, explained that she signed up to one of the more popular websites after seeing online videos that implied she could get paid just for her 'company'.
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She said that while she would have been prepared to meet 'lonely, older men' for dinner, saying: "I wasn't going to have sex with them, but the line between sugar dating and sex work is nonexistent.
"The type of men who use these websites seem to be in total denial about the fact that it's transactional too," Ally added. "Some are genuinely nice and do want to date, but to pretend it's actual dating like some sites suggest is just rubbish.
"Daddies aren't meant to message women for PPM [pay per meet], but almost all of them did.
"Some of the websites allow married men to join and be open about it, so part of the deal is secrecy from the baby about the affair."
Ally said she ultimately ended up making 'less than the minimum wage'; something Gigi echoed, stating that the time spent talking to these men must be taken into account.
"I made a few hundred from sexting and just chatting," Ally said, "but if you were to break down the time it took, it probably was less than the minimum wage."
Ally tells Tyla that one married sugar daddy had 'insane expectations' and wanted 'a girl who had never been an escort before, but who would also agree to give him sexual exclusivity for £1,000 a month.'
She said: "I ended up just deleting my account in the end as I felt really uncomfortable after this daddy tried to pressure me into dating him.
"He was going to give me an allowance and kept bringing up the fact that he could get rid of my overdraft. It was just really manipulative."
Crystal tells Tyla she knew someone who was going to agree to a £1,500-a-month arrangement, but when it came to it, the man said he had 'financial difficulties' but wanted to meet up regardless because of their apparent 'connection' over a dinner date.
Ally went on to tell Tyla that she was shamed when she mentioned sugar dating to a friend, who said the women doing it were 'taking advantage of men'.
However, Crystal asserted that the only people with the power in this situation are the men: "They know what they're getting into.
"You get a lot of the narrative where guys think that escorts are going to blackmail them, but the narrative exists the other way around on these sites with the sugar babies."
Crystal believes looking at alternative online services is better, explaining: "I've done virtual girlfriend stuff.
"I did packages. My cheapest was £50 for the week, which was good morning and good night texts, going up to a virtual girlfriend package for £2K a month.
"If you go into it with a really firm idea of what you're going and can assert your boundaries, that's fine, but a lot of people who use sugar daddy sites are vulnerable."
Ally echoed this sentiment, telling Tyla: "There's definitely easier ways to make money when you're strapped for cash.
"If I'd done straight-up phone sex, I'd have made more money and been left less creeped out by the lengths some men will go to for sex."
Gigi, meanwhile, just advises women to be careful and 'trust their gut'.
Topics: Sex and Relationships, Money
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Emma Guinness