Over the years, such a big deal has been made out of Valentine’s Day that many single people find it hard to cope with all the mush around them. While some don’t mind spending the day with their friends or by themselves, others get incredibly lonely and long for companionship. And that’s exactly what this man from Gurugram is offering.
Meet Shakul Gupta, a 31-year-old who is offering himself to take women out on a date this Valentine’s Day as a ‘boyfriend on rent’, reported Times Now. Shakul took to Instagram to share where this idea stemmed from and his experience so far. He has been renting himself out as a boyfriend for the past 5 years now.
“Loneliness is underrated. I believe we hide our loneliness, especially well on Valentine’s Day. As happy as I’d seem on the outside, I’d feel jealous watching my friends date. Before becoming a ‘Boyfriend on Rent,’ I’d never been on a date in my life! To my disappointment, the women I asked out only saw me as a ‘friend’ too. Although self-love was helpful, I craved companionship & romance,” he wrote.
Shakul revealed that around Valentine’s Day, the loneliness he felt was immense and the lack of a girlfriend made him feel unwanted. And that’s when the ‘boyfriend on rent’ idea was born because he thought that there might be people like him who are lonely as well.
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“Hearing couples say ‘I love you’ to each other on V-Day would get on my nerves, for it reminded me of my inability to have a girlfriend & made me feel unwanted. However, it was through feeling alone that the idea of being a boyfriend on rent was born. I figured, ‘There must be several other singles who feel as lonely as I do!’,” he wrote.
So 5 years ago, he uploaded a post on social media claiming to be available for rent as a boyfriend. He called himself “generous and open-minded” and as his post went viral, he received messages from multiple women asking him to take them out on a date.
“And I was right! 5 years ago, I wrote a post online, ‘I’m a generous & open-minded man. I can give you my shoulder to lean on or be your friend this V-Day. I can double up as your make-up practice model, or if you prefer being lazy, I can make you any kind of food while you relax!’ My post went viral & I got over 1000 messages from interested women; I was taken aback! I wanted to make my dates memorable for the women I was going to take out.”
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Over the years, he’s been out on at least 50 dates with different kinds of women. From taking them out on drives to going for a meal to fancy places, he’s done it all. However, he prefers the kind of dates in which he can cook for them and have a deep conversation, or gaze at the stars!
“And today, I’ve been on over 50 dates with lovely women. While my dates enjoy eating at fancy restaurants & going on long drives with me, I prefer the more intimate dates where I have deep conversations as I cook them a meal or star-gaze with them. Once, I went on a date with a woman who requested me, ‘I’ve been having difficult days at work. Could you please hug me?’ There was another who cried – ‘It hurts that guys don’t ask me out because of my weight’.”
Despite being abused for doing what he does, he continues to go out on dates because he believes that his services help his dates feel loved and cared for.
“Trolls call me a ‘Gigolo,’ but the way I see it, my service helps my dates feel loved, desired, seen, & listened to. That’s precisely why I get contacted. And so I’m here to put myself out this V-Day again as a ‘Boyfriend on Rent.’ If you’re feeling lonely or are in need of companionship, feel no shame in renting me so that I can give you the best date of your life!”
Have a look at his full post here:
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Isn’t this incredible? 😀