SOURCE: Angela Lim
If you’re single this Chinese New Year, you’re probably not looking forward to this week’s festivities.
It’s hard to enjoy that reunion feast with nosy relatives relentlessly dissecting your non-existent love life and wondering why you still haven’t found someone to settle down with.
For some Singaporeans, enough is enough. Tired of facing the firing squad of probing questions, frustrated singles are opting for an easier way out.
Their solution? Getting help from dating agencies, casual friends and even hiring social escorts to pose as romantic partners — for a day, or even a couple of hours.
David, a 29-year-old marketing executive tells My Paper that he shuns long-term relationships and prefers to date casually. He even brings his dates on Chinese New Year family visits to avoid prying questions.
“I just take one of them along for these events to shut my relatives up. The next time I meet my relatives, I just tell them that we broke up,” he said.
According to three out of four escort agencies, companions increase by a whopping 30 to 50 per cent during the festive season.
The owner of Singapore Model Escorts, who only wants to be known as William, said, “(Our make clients’) key concern is they don’t want girls to wear short skirts or look sexy. They should dress conservatively.”
One of his social escorts, Kari, who is in her 20s, posed as a girlfriend of a working professional at his family reunion dinner last year. The pair only met an hour before the gathering to corroborate details like how they met and how long they had been dating.
Kari, who works as a bank executive by day, said she pulled of a convincing act in front of her client’s 30 relatives at a Chinese restaurant.
“As we both worked at a bank, we told (his relatives) that we met at work,” she explained. ” They even told us that we look good together.”
Kari said, “I got paid a lot just to socialise and that’s the best I could’ve asked for. The guy wasn’t too bad looking, too.”
The social escort of two years got paid S$1,600 for that job.
She said she has received many professional requests to meet friends and family this festive season.
A representative for escort agency Vie Models said, “The booking fee is higher during this time because these escorts are mostly Chinese and would take on assignments only if the pay is very attractive.”
While he said the agency raises its rates by roughly 25 to 50 per cent per hour during this period, he declined to reveal the actual figures.
According to Mr Jason Lim, the owner of Metro Touch Escorts, a premium Singaporean social escort is typically defined as an attractive university graduate in her 20s. These escorts can earn anything from S$5,000 to a staggering S$20,000 for a three-hour session at a reunion dinner.
“The cost depends on the girl, the location, the duration, how many people she has to meet at the dinner and whether she is required to drink,” he added.
Dating agencies are also seeing a surge in demand at this time of the year.
One dating agency, Lunch Actually, sees a 15 to 20 per cent increase in demand for its services in the period leading up to Chinese New Year.
Ms Violet Lim, 30, the agency’s chief executive, said, “Chinese New Year is a time when they feel more pressured as they will be meeting family members who will probably ask them about their marital status. This makes them more open to finding out about dating opportunities and platforms.”
Those who are unwilling to spend or uncomfortable with the idea choose to skip town just to avoid facing a grilling by relatives.
Ashley, a 24-year-old public relations executive, said she even got a guy friend to pose as her boyfriend three years ago.
“I don’t mind getting someone to pose as my boyfriend. I’ll probably have to find someone else next time but, this year, I’m getting out of town,” she said.
So, will you ‘rent’ a partner for the Chinese New Year?
For some Singaporeans, enough is enough. Tired of facing the firing squad of probing questions, frustrated singles are opting for an easier way out.
Their solution? Getting help from dating agencies, casual friends and even hiring social escorts to pose as romantic partners — for a day, or even a couple of hours.
David, a 29-year-old marketing executive tells My Paper that he shuns long-term relationships and prefers to date casually. He even brings his dates on Chinese New Year family visits to avoid prying questions.
“I just take one of them along for these events to shut my relatives up. The next time I meet my relatives, I just tell them that we broke up,” he said.
According to three out of four escort agencies, companions increase by a whopping 30 to 50 per cent during the festive season.
The owner of Singapore Model Escorts, who only wants to be known as William, said, “(Our make clients’) key concern is they don’t want girls to wear short skirts or look sexy. They should dress conservatively.”
One of his social escorts, Kari, who is in her 20s, posed as a girlfriend of a working professional at his family reunion dinner last year. The pair only met an hour before the gathering to corroborate details like how they met and how long they had been dating.
Kari, who works as a bank executive by day, said she pulled of a convincing act in front of her client’s 30 relatives at a Chinese restaurant.
“As we both worked at a bank, we told (his relatives) that we met at work,” she explained. ” They even told us that we look good together.”
Kari said, “I got paid a lot just to socialise and that’s the best I could’ve asked for. The guy wasn’t too bad looking, too.”
The social escort of two years got paid S$1,600 for that job.
She said she has received many professional requests to meet friends and family this festive season.
A representative for escort agency Vie Models said, “The booking fee is higher during this time because these escorts are mostly Chinese and would take on assignments only if the pay is very attractive.”
While he said the agency raises its rates by roughly 25 to 50 per cent per hour during this period, he declined to reveal the actual figures.
According to Mr Jason Lim, the owner of Metro Touch Escorts, a premium Singaporean social escort is typically defined as an attractive university graduate in her 20s. These escorts can earn anything from S$5,000 to a staggering S$20,000 for a three-hour session at a reunion dinner.
“The cost depends on the girl, the location, the duration, how many people she has to meet at the dinner and whether she is required to drink,” he added.
Dating agencies are also seeing a surge in demand at this time of the year.
One dating agency, Lunch Actually, sees a 15 to 20 per cent increase in demand for its services in the period leading up to Chinese New Year.
Ms Violet Lim, 30, the agency’s chief executive, said, “Chinese New Year is a time when they feel more pressured as they will be meeting family members who will probably ask them about their marital status. This makes them more open to finding out about dating opportunities and platforms.”
Those who are unwilling to spend or uncomfortable with the idea choose to skip town just to avoid facing a grilling by relatives.
Ashley, a 24-year-old public relations executive, said she even got a guy friend to pose as her boyfriend three years ago.
“I don’t mind getting someone to pose as my boyfriend. I’ll probably have to find someone else next time but, this year, I’m getting out of town,” she said.
So, will you ‘rent’ a partner for the Chinese New Year?
