Both women tell me that unlike similar website Seeking Arrangement, there is no obligation to see your ‘generous’ suitor more than once. Most of the time, they would go on the date and never see the guy again.

Monique*

Monique and her friends documented their paid dates in a WhatsApp group.

Josephine*

I was 19 and studying abroad when a friend-of-a-friend, Claire*, told me about the website.

We were the only two international students at a party, and after chatting for a while the conversation shifted to the cost of living in the famously expensive city we were in. I started complaining about my money struggles - something my parents had always taught me not to talk about in public.

It was my first time living out of home, paying rent and standing on my own two feet. I just couldn't seem make it work and was much too proud to ask my parents for financial assistance. Instead, I had taken a 9-5 job in an office and was working as a bartender on weekends, all while studying and trying to keep up with my new uni friends, who were much wealthier than me.

I felt like I couldn't enjoy living abroad because I was working so hard all the time but barely making any money. Then I met Claire.

She told me she had felt the same before she discovered a quick way to make money to fund her nights out, designer wardrobe, and even trips to Europe and the Caribbean: paid dating.

The first word that came to mind when she told me was 'escort', and I assumed she was paid to have sex. But even if she was, what did it matter? As long as it was her choice and she was safe about it, who was I to judge?

She'd shown me her profile and explained how the site worked and I was initially intrigued, but when I woke up hungover the next morning I decided it wasn't for me.

A few weeks later, after spending another weekend run off my feet at the bar - still with a dismal dollar amount in my bank account, I thought about her suggestion again and changed my mind. Why the hell not?

My plan was to go on one date to see how I felt about it. I set up a profile and watched the requests roll in, feeling a rush I hadn't expected to feel.

My first date was to a restaurant my match told me was 'an establishment for the rich and famous'. It was stunning, with high ornate ceilings, crystal champagne glasses and waiters who drape your napkin over your lap for you.

Josephine's dates were ultra-glam.

I remember feeling jitters in the cab ride over, fiddling with the hem of my sequinned skirt. I was nervous, but excited.

My date was a film director in his late 60s. He had that artsy-intellectual air about him, but a warmth as well. He looked me dead in the eye when he spoke, but it didn't make me feel uneasy - I felt calm in his presence. In fact it felt just like a normal date, and I'd been on plenty of those.

Throughout the date he told me he'd directed Colin Farrell as a teenager among a host of other actors and actresses I pretended to know. He asked about my career prospects as we drank our way through the cocktail list and shared a decadent seafood platter. He was kind, and didn't even ask about sex or try to kiss me at the end of the date - which Claire had warned me might happen. He simply slipped an envelope into my bag and waved goodbye.

I remember checking the time after the date - I'd been there for two hours, and made $200, which was much more than I'd make in an 8-hour shift at the bar. It was the easiest money I ever made.

I went on about 12 more dates like it, mostly with older business men, but some younger men who'd tell me they struggled with social interaction which made it hard to meet women in a conventional way. Once, I was given a bottle of Dolce & Gabbana perfume, another somehow figured out where I worked and sent flowers - I found this alarming and embarrassing.

My favourite part of the dates was asking the men why they were on the site. Some shared stories of girls who had fooled them into transferring money before the date, then never showed up. One guy said firmly: "If I wanted to pay a woman for sex, there are plenty of sites I could go to." Ironically, he was the only one I felt uncomfortable with. Just something about him.

(He later disclosed that he was married and looking for a discreet affair, and offered to pay my rent if I moved into an apartment close to his family home. I declined.)

Some said they liked how the site 'cut through the noise of Tinder', others said they felt they couldn't ask a young, beautiful girl out on a date, so the offer of cash was a way for them to meet women they saw as out of their league.

I eventually deleted my account because I wanted to find a boyfriend, and with the amount of time I was spending on my secret life as a professional dater I wasn't able focus on meeting someone I could start a real relationship with.

I haven't yet, but when I do I think I will tell them about my past life. It's part of who I am.