Sugar Daddies… In This Economy?

Sugar daddies and sugar babies share how financial stress is impacting their love lives

Hi everyone! I’m excited to share some of my favorite reporting this year: a feature on how economic pressures are shaping sugar relationships in 2025, from so-called “salt daddies” to the men skipping meals to keep up with their sugar baby’s demands. Read the excerpt below, and the full piece on Bustle; I’ll be back to you with more fun stuff next week.

Courtesy of Bustle

It was 9 p.m. in San Francisco, and Jackson, a 29-year-old tennis coach, was scrolling through Chinese takeout on Grubhub. Just as he was about to click “order,” a text came in: Daddy, can you send me money to get my nails done? He sent about $100, closed the app, and went to bed hungry. “In that moment, I decided not to eat,” he says. “I only have so much cash.”

Jackson had never planned on becoming a sugar daddy. Until one day earlier this year, when a female friend texted him a picture of herself trying on dresses in a store and asked which one to get. “I said, ‘Oh, I’ll buy you whichever one you want,’” he recalls. She didn’t believe him — until her phone lit up with the Venmo “ka-ching.” Soon their conversations turned steamy. “The first time, it was extraordinarily hot,” says Jackson, who, like the others interviewed for this story, spoke to me on the condition of using a pseudonym. “There was something about her excitement and responsiveness. I found myself eager to give more and to get more. It was evident to me that capitalism has created such dire conditions that the power of money was sexual in nature.”

From there, he fostered multiple sugar relationships, sometimes seeing as many as four women at once. Compared to the time-intensive hassle of modern dating, it was an efficient way to get his needs met. “I’m ultimately this successful because I work 10 to 14 hours a day,” he says. “I’m saving time by just being able to be like, I need you to send me a picture of your butt. And then when I want your emotional support, we can schedule a time to talk.”

But soon, his income took a hit. Amid layoffs, industry slowdowns, and a tense economic backdrop, tennis clients started to tell him they couldn’t afford his coaching anymore. Meanwhile, requests from his sugar babies kept adding up: nails, shoes, flights, $3,000 Ariana Grande tickets. He describes the dynamic as “unethical nonmonogamy” — not because they wanted sexual exclusivity, but because he often felt forced to choose between whom to send money to. Too tired to cook on account of his long hours, he started skipping his frequent DoorDash habit to keep up. “I was like, ‘Why am I starving myself for this?’” he says. “Sex is important in my life, but it shouldn’t take precedence over me eating.”

“It’s like, yeah, I want the G6 lifestyle, but I can afford, you know, Delta Economy Class.”

When we hear the term “sugar daddy,” the collective imagination conjures images of penthouses, caviar, and private jets. But in 2025, many are actually men like Jackson: mid-career professionals with some disposable income, but not so much that money is no object. And between inflation, skyrocketing rents, and a seemingly perpetually looming recession, even men who once seemed financially secure have had to cut back.

Morgan, a mid-20s escort and former sugar baby, says she’s seen a shift in what clients expect. “They want the full girlfriend experience, but for less,” she tells me, noting that for the first time, she had to offer a client a payment plan. Another cited the cost-of-living crisis when he tried to negotiate. Yet another asked for a discounted rate, then sulked when she had to leave his chosen date — an ecstatic dance class soundtracked by Khia’s “My Neck, My Back” — to see another client.

“He said he should have gotten more for his money because he’s not, like, a rich finance bro. But I’m not doing it on a sliding scale!” she says, exasperated. “He calls himself an anti-capitalist writer, but I think he really just means he doesn’t have a lot of money.”

On Reddit forums like r/SugarRelationship, babies commiserate about clients who fail to value their time — dubbing them “Splenda daddies” and “salt daddies.” “It’s embarrassing to talk about,” says John, a sugar daddy who follows these discussions; he got into sugaring to find satisfaction outside his marriage after his sex life with his wife went cold. “It’s like, yeah, I want the G6 lifestyle, but I can afford, you know, Delta Economy Class.”

You read the rest here. Thanks to everyone who spoke with me for this story, and to Nolan Feeney for the genius edits. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts in the comments!