Keeley Shoup is making $100 per hour providing non-sexual cuddling for clients. Shoup has an interview in which says she’s providing an essential service for people by giving them a chance to have non-sexual “platonic touch.” While she doesn’t allow any activity that’s “sexual or provocative,” she says she’s received some requests most would consider “weird.”
How weird can the requests get? According to Shoup, they include things like having a tickle fight with a client, reading children’s books to them, and “wrestling around like a puppy” for a “sense of play.” She says her clients know she won’t judge them for their requests and takes it as a compliment that they trust her enough to ask for the things they want.
She may have a point. The pro cuddler says she provides intimacy to people who otherwise wouldn’t experience human contact. She’s not the only person in America doing this for a living, but she’s been doing it for around seven years and says the demand for what she offers has only increased after the pandemic lockdowns.
I looked up professional cuddlers in South Carolina and found more than 40 advertising on this site.
Here's an interview she did describing her profession.