'Don't be a gold digger and I won't be treating you like a hooker' - sugar daddy talks lifestyle

ORLANDO, Fla. — Looking at 57-year-old Robert in a red plaid shirt, you might think he was no different from any other man. He enjoys music, loves animals and likes to drink socially. But his passions also include younger women, and he heartily enjoys his role as a "sugar daddy." His last sugar baby was 21-years-old.

"She got to experience things, and she came from a little town, where she would not have experienced them. She wouldn't have had the city nightlife or gone down to the Fountainbleau hotel in Florida."

Channel 9 reporter Lauren Seabrook spent a month speaking with Robert and two sugar babies, Michelle and Tina, before they agreed to be formally interviewed about the "sugar lifestyle." All three asked we not use their last names; Michelle spoke to us over the phone, and Tina asked we not show her face on camera.

"It's just something that you don't like to share to the world," Tina said.

Michelle and Tina candidly spoke about their fears of graduating from the University of Central Florida with an overwhelming amount of student loan debt. Financial stress compiled with balancing the responsibilities and commitments of a full-time college education compelled them to look for alternative forms of income.

"It's quick, easy, fast money," Tina told Seabrook. "Where it's a job...it's really nothing."

""I don't work enough because of school, so I'm not getting paid enough," Michelle explained.

The women decided to become sugar babies. Tina met her sugar daddy on Instagram. Michelle turned to the website SeekingArrangement.com, one of several WFTV found that acts as a platform to connect aspiring sugar babies with older men or women willing to provide financial support in exchange for time and attention. Seeking Arrangement says sugar babies make an average of $3,000 a month from sugar daddies or sugar mamas that have an average annual income of $250,000.

The women use the money for whatever they want.

"I'll help somebody out whether it's paying for a little tuition or paying for car payments or whatever. Then we go on nice, like five-star vacations," Robert told Seabrook.

Robert, who goes by "Manhattan Guy," says he considers himself successful. He told Seabrook he makes $200,000 as a day trader in New York City and has a net worth of a million dollars.  And he's looking for a certain type of younger woman.

"Don't be a gold digger, and I won't be treating you like a hooker," he said.

According to money.cnn.com, the cost of living comparison between Manhattan and Orlando means $200,000 in New York is slightly under $80,000 in Central Florida.

Robert, who has participated in the sugar lifestyle for more than a dozen years, believes he is a good influence on his sugar babies, and says he's even been a mentor to them. But it's not always the happiest of experiences for him.

"I once invited somebody over for a drink and I didn't know they were manic depressive and bipolar. After they had a few drinks, I had to tell them to leave because I had to get up for work in the morning," he told Seabrook. "They were insulted that I was kicking them out."

"I'm not desperate."

There's also the reality of the age difference.

"I once said, do you want to go see Billy Joel, and she said, 'whose that?'" Robert shared.

Others aspects of his arrangements have been less dramatic, but also disappointing for him. He said some women want to be paid to go on vacation with him and others ask for expensive gifts, such as designer handbags.

"I don't want to be used. If I'm going to have any physical connection with somebody, I want to feel they want to be with me," he shared with Seabrook. "I want a little meaning there. I don't want this all about sex for money. There are plenty of women who write to you who say, 'hey, I'll come to your house. Give me $400.'"

"I'm not desperate. I don't have to do that," Robert said.

Seabrook asked Robert what portion of his arrangements with potential sugar babies he expected to be sexual.

"I'm at a point where they go hand in hand," he said.

Robert believes that for some men and women these arrangements are a high-dollar, elite type of prostitution.

"This is just a symptom of society," he said.

Watch the raw interview below:

We asked Seeking Arrangement to clarify its position on any physical relationship between its sugar community members. A spokesperson told Seabrook it is inaccurate to describe "sugar dating" as prostitution.

"We do not allow solicitation of any kind, and this includes prostitution and escorting," said Kimberly De La Cruz. "Anyone caught using transactional language will be banned. We have a customer support team that works around the clock in three different countries, as well as artificial intelligence and a strong self-reporting community."

SeekingArrangement.com claims to have a large online community, boasting 10 million members on its website. Spread across 139 countries, it says there are 8 million sugar babies and 2 million sugar daddies or sugar mamas. When we looked at the website for this story, we counted numerous links to join. Users are even able to attach their memberships to their Facebook profiles.

But, sometimes, not everything is as it seems.

"You can show me a little bit of respect."

When Seabrook spoke with Tina about her sugar daddy with the foot fetish, Tina told her why she cut it off.  She said the man became angry when she did not text him all of the time.

"He was like, 'you know, you can show me a little bit of respect,'" she said.

Tina stopped responding and the money stopped coming in.

We reached out to the police department at the University of Central Florida when we learned UCF is the second-fastest university for sugar babies in the country.

In a statement, a spokesperson told us they see a potential relationship between an increase in sextortion-related cases and the sugar relationships.

"Our concern is people's actions later being used against them in a way that's criminal," Courtney Gilmartin said. "UCFPD's advice to our students is to be smart and keep their personal safety top of mind."

Sextortion is the practice of extorting money or sexual favors from someone by threatening to reveal evidence of their sexual activity.

Watch the FBI's video about sextortion below:

Video: FBI Defines 'Sextortion' Watch the FBI define 'sextortion.'

The potential for problems down the road does not seem to be dissuading men and women of all ages from signing up to be part of the sugar communities. Seeking Arrangement says there are more than 1,000 sugar babies at UCF, and Florida State University and the University of Florida aren't far behind.

Look at some of the profiles for the sugar babies by clicking here

"It helps me and it helps the other person who I have the arrangement with," Michelle told Seabrook. "It's a mutually beneficial relationship."

To contact Lauren Seabrook about this story, email her at Lauren.Seabrook@wftv.com 

Cox Media Group