BEEN SINGLE A bit too long? Fed up of inquiries about your barren love life when the family gets together?

You’re not alone. The women of China have come up with a practical solution, with the hiring of ‘bogus boyfriends’ becoming a trend among young singletons in the country.

Sick of the effort of dating, women in their 20s and 30s are opting to ‘rent a boyfriend’ instead, according to Chinese online newspaper, People’s Daily. This is around the age when the women start to feel social pressure to get married and have children, with the service being most popular during the season Chinese New Year when they’re likely to head home to family.

Services start from 800 yuan (€98) per day in China, but 1,500 (€184) in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. For this cash, the women can hire an inoffensive boyfriend to accompany them to family and work events. The boyfriend can usually be found on Chinese eBay Taobao, and is available beforehand for rehearsal and a quick brief on a back story. Romantic.

Potential clients must agree to purchase at least three days and have to pay extra for shopping, dinner, or a trip to the cinema (it’s even more money for a thriller). While hand holding is free, it’s a steep 50 yuan (€6) for a small kiss.

But don’t even think about going any further, this is no escort service.

Fake boyfriend Matthew Fan, speaking to People’s Daily, says that:

I wanted to earn some pocket money when I had just graduated from university and started to work. I only rent my time, not my body — you know what I mean.

It’s not just the women that are using these services, but according to a BBC report, it’s the women that find themselves under the most pressure. One such woman, Ding Na, says:

I’m pretty old, I’m almost 30, but I’m still single. I’m under lots of pressure. My sisters and my relatives all ask me why I’m not married. When they call me, I’m scared to pick up the phone.

‘Han’ from the Rent-Me Work Studio told Shanghai Daily that rented girlfriends just aren’t in that much demand:

One big reason is that there are more desperate ‘leftover women’, than men, and the other is that to rent a girlfriend is more sensitive and dangerous.

h/t Daily Dot

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