‘Sugaring’ for tuition

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A post-secondary education can be very expensive and leave students with a lot of debt. In fact on average, a student will graduate with about $28,000 in debt, and that’s causing some to take a less common approach to paying it off. As Brittany Gogo tells us, a dating website is helping students hook up with “sugar daddies.”

“Wow, someone wants to pay me to date me. OK, let’s see if that works.”

And it has been working for 25 year old Claire King: she’s been a “sugar baby” for the last 4 years.

“I don’t have very much money, I am a student.”

Claire is a nursing student at U of T and thanks to her “sugar daddies” she’ll finish her second degree without owing a dime. “I will be debt free.”

She’s just one of the many students who are turning to the internet to find a “mutually beneficial” relationship. It’s called “sugaring.”

On Seeking Arrangement’s website men and women can search for someone who catches their eye and set up dates; but here it’s expected that women are young and attractive and men are wealthy and willing to pay them a monthly allowance.

Nearly half of the site’s users are students. The University of Toronto tops the list of the fastest growing “sugar baby” schools in Canada, with nearly 550 “sugar baby” students.

Claire’s current “sugar daddy” is 35 years old and spends half his time working in California. The oldest man she’s dated was 63 and married.

“Usually I try to be very upfront about the allowance.” She wouldn’t tell us what her current allowance is, but did say “it’s enough to pay my rent and take care of myself and do nice things.”

What sort of expectations are involved? Sex? “I guess so; when you go out on a date with someone sex is always in the back of your mind but it’s always my choice.”

As Seeking Arrangement’s CEO put it, “many people don’t understand the Seeking Arrangement lifestyle. It really is about finding what you want and living life to the fullest.”

“I spent 3½ months working in the Middle East with African refugees. Thanks, Roy!”

She says her “sugar daddies” have helped her accomplish some of her goals, but she’s also helped them. “It’s nice to be supported to make it easier, and I also support him in his stuff too.”