Update 9 Mar 2022: Singapore sugar baby - 'We're not sex workers'
"Lucky" and "grateful" were words that Singaporean Felice Ang, 23, used to describe her state of mind when she's with her boyfriend.
And the expensive gifts and experiences that he showers on her? They are a "privilege" of their relationship. The gifts include hotel stays, the latest gadgets and custom jewellery. That, as well as cold, hard cash.
If this all sounds a little odd, that's because these are perks that Felice enjoys as a "sugar baby" to her 35-year-old "sugar daddy".
Sugar baby Felice Ang responds to the backlash she received from her viral interview
In January this year, Felice Ang rose to fame (or arguably, notoriety) overnight after she opened up about what it's like being a sugar baby in an AsiaOne interview.
Many disparaging comments were made about her looks and morality across online forum threads and social media platforms. But the 24-year-old has no regrets about revealing her identity.
"I wanted to be genuine and relatable as there's nothing to hide. A sugar relationship isn't prostitution - it's a lifestyle and not a profession. The interview is definitely something I don't regret and I hope it sheds light on sugar relationships as there's nothing wrong with them," she says. She currently works as a marketing executive.
Guy would rather pay sugar babies aged 19 – 22 for company than have a relationship
Voicing an unpopular opinion, a 27-year-old guy wrote that he would rather go out with sugar babies instead of finding a girlfriend
In an anonymous post on confessions page NUSWhispers, the guy wrote: “For the longest time, I bemoaned my lack of dating success. I would look at friends who were attached and feel so much envy. Wondering why couldn’t [I] just find someone who I could care for, and would care for me in return”. He added that he created an account on Sugarbook, an online dating service that was founded in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sugarbook is most popular in the Southeast Asian countries of Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. It is known for people to find “mutually beneficial relationships,” sugar babies and sugar daddies.
The guy wrote that after logging on to Sugarbook, he started seeing a few girls from the app. Not all of them were interested in physical relationships, “But it’s fine, I enjoy the company of them all. Taking them out to dinner, chatting with them, sending them home”. He added that he was 27 years old, but looked for girls between the ages of 19 to 22.
“Some of these girls, for their own reasons need the money, and i’m happy to help them with it and make their life a little easier,” he wrote. Since he had a job that paid well, he explained that after saving some money and investing some, he had enough to reward himself. “And I gotta say, it feels good,” he wrote.
Finding love and earning money from it: What does being a sugar baby entail?
Technology has redefined the notion of dating. Modern dating has created a lot of new opportunities, and has become so prevalent in our current lives that we now instantly understand terms like “swiping left“.
Apart from the huuuuge range of dating apps, the idea of “sugaring” has also been gaining traction recently.
In fact, Singapore has one of the highest traffic on one of the popular sugar dating websites, Sugarbook.
Being a sugar baby in Singapore - how much money can this controversial 'job' make?
You can say that the rise of dating apps like Tinder and Coffee Meets Bagel has completely changed the way modern Singaporeans date, but unlike traditional courtship, there's one thing that will never go out fashion - sugar baby dating, or what some call "gold digger" relationships.
In fact, sugar dating site Sugarbook recently published statistics showing that university student sign-ups increased by 32 per cent from 2018 to 2019 in Singapore, putting the total number of undergraduate sugar babies on their platform at over 2,000.
But first, what is a "sugar baby"? In a nutshell, a sugar baby is someone who is paid - in money and gifts - for their company. It's paid dating between a young, attractive "baby" and a rich, older "daddy". (Sugar mummies exist too, but for convenience, this article will focus on the most common heterosexual relationship between a female sugar baby and male sugar daddy.)
28-year-old mum of 2 spills the beans on what life is like with a sugar daddy
The pandemic hasn’t been the same for all. The comfort of a home, a secure job with the option to work from home, and a happy family are luxuries to some that others may take for granted.
This was the case with single mum Lynn. The former accountant who lost her job during the pandemic has had it tough to make ends meet. And while the 28-year-old mother of two sons remained optimistic, it was her personal life that took the biggest hit.
Lynn married at an early age to a husband who was abusive. While the mum worked two jobs to put food on the table, he was an absentee husband and father, barely around for the family. It was his abusive actions that eventually forced Lynn to file for divorce for the safe of her and her children’s safety.
What I Learned From Being A Sugar Baby In Singapore For Three Months
When my friend Tricia* first confessed to being a sugar baby, I didn’t know what to think
For as long as I’ve known her, she was (and still is) the career-minded ladyboss who often took life’s obstacles in her stride, with a cheeky smirk and a middle finger raised up high. But beneath her strong exterior, I saw someone vulnerable, someone who, despite her chatty nature, fell silent when I asked if she was comfortable being labelled an escort. “I had no choice,” she finally said, “It was the only way out.”
How it started? Growing up in a single-income household, Tricia’s life took a turn for the worse when her abusive stepfather robbed the family’s savings and left. Penniless, she worked various part-time jobs to cover family expenses, but as a full-time student, her limited work hours didn’t suffice to make ends meet. Although she was aware of the stigma surrounding the sugar daddy culture, a look at the attractive ‘fees’ offered on sugardaddymeets.com convinced her to try it out. She crafted an alluring profile, and within two weeks, was on her way to meet her first sugar daddy.
Life as a sugar baby - In the beginning, Tricia escorted three middle-aged men. The first two offered S$200 for a quickie, whereas Joe*, a divorced businessman in his mid-50s, paid her S$350 for her time. “With Joe, it felt less transactional and more personal. We would chat about my aspirations over lunch and he would offer me business advice.” She would receive her payment after the deed was done, and the money usually paid bills and tuition fees while a small portion was kept for her personal allowance.
Sugar 'babies' and 'daddies' reveal what it's really like to date for money — and it's not what you'd expect
Being a sugar baby is often a misunderstood profession
Though some more glamorize or demonize it, what we found by looking at Reddit is that it's a lot like any other service industry role. There are good experiences, bad experiences, and sometimes full-blown horror stories.
We rounded up some stories from Reddit from sugar babies and their clients. Of course, this is just for fun, as we can't independently verify these stories.
"I took a rather sweet potential sugar baby to a late lunch/early dinner. Everything was going great. I offered to buy her a to-go box, as well as the food we had. She asked if she could get one for her boyfriend as well, who it turns out was waiting in the car for her in the parking lot
Malaysian sugar baby spills sordid details of her 'Sugarbowl' lifestyle
A Malaysian sugar baby has taken to Reddit in an AMA (ask me anything) thread.
The 22 year-old "Agnostic Malay lady" bares all in the thread with over 230 comments from curious netizens.
The sugar baby lifestyle, or 'sugarbowl', is a 'profession' that is frowned upon by many, especially within the Asian societies.
Brutally honest confessions of a Malaysian sugar baby
The Sun newspaper in the UK brought to light a Reddit “AMA” (ask me anything) session by an anonymous, 20-year-old woman about life as a sugar baby. Posted on Reddit last week, she answered questions posed by other users, ranging from how much she earns, to whether she would have a sugar daddy and date a boyfriend at the same time.
In a case closer to home, a 22-year-old Malaysian sugar baby also took to Reddit for a brutally honest “AMA” session about the sugar scene in Malaysia.
An “Agnostic Malay lady”, she is currently a Biomedical Science student in university and has been in the “sugarbowl” (sugar bowl refers to the “sugar” lifestyle or the “sugar” scene) scene for over two years. “The reason why I got into this is because I need to pay my student debt and also want to save up for my Masters studies (hopefully) overseas,” she wrote.
I'm a Malaysian sugar baby who has been in the sugarbowl for 2 years AMA!
Its Sunday and I pretty much have nothing to do,so I decided to do this AMA for those who are curious about the sugarbowl scene here in Malaysia :) a little info about myself:
I'm a 22 year old Agnostic Malay lady. I'm still doing my studies here in the city. I've had 2 sugar daddies in the past, one that lasted for 4 months and another one thats still going on (1 year+). The reason why I got into this is because I need to pay my student debt and also want to save up for my Masters studies (hopefully) overseas.
Here are some terms I'd be using when answering your questions:
- SD - Sugar Daddy
- SB - Sugar Baby
- PPM - pay per meet
- Salt daddy - a pakcik that pretends he's rich but he's just tryna get in your pants.
- POT - potential sugar daddy
- SA - Seeking Arrangement
Where Romance Meets Finance
"Sugarbook is a social networking platform that helps build beneficial relationships with our society’s elite. Unlike other dating websites, we understand that privacy is of the utmost importance therefore, we strive to provide a community for honest and transparent relationships."
Singapore Teacher Allegedly On Sugarbook Website
ST understands the teacher has since tendered her resignation. PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO
The website Sugarbook which pairs women with men willing to pay for their time is in the news after a user complained that a teacher had advertised herself as a potential “sugar baby”.
The user told The Straits Times (ST) that he had alerted the Ministry of Education in October after cross-referencing the female teacher's profile with her social media account.
