Spoiler: it’s not what you think.
1. Most of them just want a cuddle
The most common request across our survey wasn’t sexual. It was intimacy, a kiss, a cuddle, someone to sit with. “Men missing intimacy at home,” as one escort put it. Another spent an entire booking watching Netflix, ordering food, and listening to a client complain about his ex.
2. The ‘dirty old man’ stereotype is wrong
Multiple escorts described clients who were, frankly, good-looking. “He looked like an actor. I was genuinely shocked someone like that would book.” Clients are often younger, more attractive, and more functional than the cultural shorthand suggests.
3. Paying does not mean they think they’re attractive to you
“It always surprises me when a man thinks that.” The assumption that payment equals mutual attraction is, apparently, both common and incorrect.
4. The requests are weirder than you’d expect
A man who wanted to be pied in the face with squirty cream (he got a deal at Tesco). A client who asked an escort to fold her laundry at her feet while she drank coffee. A man whose only request was “please leave your socks on.” One client asked an escort to marry him. Another wanted to be a dog for exactly one hour.
5. Some of them have never been shown warmth before
One escort kissed a client and he stopped, confused. “He asked me what is that?” She described it as the reaction of someone who had never been shown genuine affection – sometimes they are just very lonely people.
6. The nervous ones are the most human
A first-time client arrived with a written plan in his pocket, conversation topics, things to try, a reminder to himself to breathe. Within five minutes he’d forgotten it entirely. They spent half the session laughing. That, escorts say, is more typical than anyone wants to admit.
7. They’re “actually just nice”
“I’ve been in this industry a long time. The people are actually nice. You make friendships on the way.” Not every escort said this. But enough of them did that it keeps showing up unprompted, in a survey specifically designed to surface the harder truths.
Source: Erobella Ask an Escort survey series, two waves, UK escorts, 2026. All quotes from consenting respondents. For full dataset, interview access or comment contact Caitlin Peters, PR Manager, Lust / Erobella.
