17 Sex Workers Are Sharing Stories Of The Most “Emotionally Challenging” Jobs They’ve Ever Had, And It’s Honestly Heartbreaking
“She said she held it together while she was there, but bawled the whole drive home…”
Sex workers interact with nearly every kind of client and emotion imaginable, especially considering many people find it easier to open up to someone they don’t interact with on a regular basis. Oftentimes, these emotional confessions leave a lifelong impact on a person…
That’s why when Redditor u/BookInWriting recently asked, “Sex workers of Reddit, what is the most emotionally challenging ‘job’ you’ve taken?” both current and former sex workers shared their most emotional encounters with clients. Without further ado, here are 17 of their most enlightening stories:
Some responses were also sourced from this thread.
If you are or have ever been a sex worker, feel free to tell us about your most emotional jobs using this anonymous form!
1. “When I was 20, I was in a tough situation and needed money to survive. I only ever went on dates with sugar daddies, but… I branched out three times, and this client was my last. He had a terminal illness that he wasn’t getting treatment for, but he looked completely fine. Handsome, nice body, cute hair, and glasses. He just looked like a normal guy, not what you’d imagine when you hear the word ‘terminal.'”
2. “I had a client reach out. He was very upfront about his condition. He and one of his home care nurses would set up a time for a companion to come visit.”
“He was in his late 30s but was born with significant physical issues; he was a quadriplegic with a trach. He could communicate verbally a bit, but had a perfect intellect. I saw him a few times, but I later moved away.
I remember he emailed me saying how thankful he was that I touched him like a human being, not just a lump of flesh. Everyone treats him like a child because of his need for total care. He can’t do anything for himself; he’s basically a prisoner in his broken body. If not for the nurse and the sex workers that see him, he’d never have any sexual outlet.”
—u/smokeandshadows
3. “A friend and neighbor of mine (she’s a sex worker) said the toughest client she had was a guy in hospice. He didn’t want sex; he just asked her to paint his nails and talk because it reminded him of his daughter.”
“She said she held it together while she was there, but bawled the whole drive home.”
—[deleted]
4. “I once had a client who wanted me to come over around 4 a.m., which was late, but he offered to pay handsomely. When I got there, we made small talk. It was difficult to get him to talk sexy at all, and he seemed distraught. I was a bit disappointed because he was attractive. Eventually, we started kissing, but he seemed reluctant. After a second, he pulled away and said he couldn’t continue.”
5. “A husband and wife booked me for a threesome because having a lesbian experience was on her bucket list. She’d recently recovered from a double-mastectomy and had just been diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor, despite undergoing chemotherapy.”
“In a private (fully clothed) moment between the husband and me, he told me that she didn’t have long left.
The way they looked at each other was so beautiful — just pure love.”
—u/TheSpiritualSlut
6. “I had a client who told me 10 minutes before the end of a session that he had to report to prison the next day for serious time. I’m not sure exactly what for, but it seemed drug-related. He told me he was having his last hurrah before committing suicide. We talked about it, and I gave him some numbers to call, but to this day, I have no idea if he went through with it or not.”
“That session was above my pay grade for sure.”
—u/Egg_shaped
7. “I was a sex worker for about a year and a half. I had a regular client in his mid-thirties with a number of mental health diagnoses; however, his family didn’t believe in mental illness. He wouldn’t socialize with anyone except for his family members. A mental breakdown the year prior forced him to quit his job, sell his house, and move back in with his parents. He had never had sex with anyone who wasn’t a sex worker, and he had never been on a date with a woman or had any female friends.”
8. “I’ve worked as a dominatrix and a sex worker. My saddest experience was with one of my submissives. I saw this client a few times. He was very intelligent, funny, and had a successful career. He was heavily into receiving pain, and our sessions were on the more extreme end. Afterwards, he’d always want to cuddle, chat, and laugh.”
“One day, after our session, he told me he was finally retiring and going to solo travel and have some experiences. Not long after, someone told me he had passed away. Based on the timeline, I doubt he ended up vacationing.
I’ve had other clients who were depressed, in bad marriages, or unhappy with their lives, but he was the only client that I’d known to have passed away, and under such sad circumstances.”
—u/timidlioness
9. “I was a dancer in college for women’s and gay clubs. I never did anything private, but would sit with generous customers. Most of the time, I just tuned out whatever they were saying, but there was one older guy who always wanted to talk and said I reminded him of his ex-boyfriend, but he wasn’t creepy.”
“He brought in a bunch of photos of him with his boyfriend that were around 30 years old, and the guy looked like he could be my brother. The patron had married a woman, had a family, and lived a straight life in public. His wife had left him, and his kids wanted nothing to do with him. All he ever did was talk about his boyfriend, who had died shortly after he was married.
He was so full of regret for not spending time with his boyfriend; it was just painful. He never proposed anything else, was always super respectful and generous, I genuinely felt bad for the guy.”
—[deleted]
10. “I had a former customer with Parkinson’s disease whom I met at a club. He got Parkinson’s at only 29. As his condition worsened over the years, his wife started sleeping with his best friend at the time, and eventually left him. He paid me a few times to come over and clean his house, watch TV with him, and talk to him because he was so lonely. To be honest, I didn’t understand the majority of what he was saying because his speech was affected, but I nodded along so he would feel like someone was listening.”
11. “When I was stripping, I once had a successful lawyer BAWLING in my arms because he’d never had sex or a proper relationship despite wanting both. He had autism and really struggled with physical touch like hugging, hand holding, etc. He felt safe enough with me to open up about his story and also try hugging a bit.”
“I felt touched as I could relate. I have severe misophonia, which has really restricted my life in so many ways — including relationships.”
—u/dodgystyle
12. “I was just doing cam work. But when you’re a cam girl, people can take you into private mode and get a custom-negotiated ‘scene’ with just you. One time, I was camming and suddenly my screen went into private mode. I started to take off some of my clothes just out of the assumption that this person would want to see me naked…”
“Well, he told me, ‘You don’t need to do that. I just want you to listen to me.’ He proceeded to tell me about how he had been going through a divorce and was struggling. He just wanted to read me a short story he wrote. Not only was he actually a fairly normal guy, but he was an amazing author if what he was reading to me was actually his.
So I sat there and just listened to him while he enjoyed reading his works aloud.”
—u/Soft-Ruin-4350
13. “Not my story, but I had a friend who did ‘rent a night’ work. Once, she had a guy ask her if she could come over; he didn’t talk about sex over the phone; he just told her to come over and come hungry. She thought he was probably into ‘feeding.'”
14. “I had one client whom I felt bad for. Both of his legs and one arm were amputated, and he was older and alone. It didn’t seem like he had anyone in his life other than the healthcare professionals who took care of him; he was really sweet and had an older, defeated voice. He couldn’t really do anything on his own.”
“I just felt incredibly bad for him and thought about offering him my services for free every once in a while, but never did. He just wanted to be in the presence of someone else and have someone to talk to and feel close to.”
—u/PancakeGirl3
15. “On the flip side, I hired a sex worker when I was 19. I had never done the deed with anyone. I had a single dating partner who wasn’t online, and it only lasted three months. I was quite lonely and desperate for something.”
16. “Not me, but my ex-boyfriend was a sex worker for the first half of our relationship.”
“Aside from his relationship with me, the last client he saw was one of the tipping points that made him quit. He was back home visiting his family and decided to respond to someone’s post. When he showed up, it was his grade school music teacher. My ex was quite the piano prodigy, so he said that when he walked in, his teacher’s face was pure sadness, as my ex was one of his favorite students.
They ended up not doing anything sexual, and the two of them had a lovely conversation catching up on where their lives had taken them (at this point, my ex was a senior in college).
After they finished talking, the man had my ex play the piano for him in his home. He said that after that moment, he just couldn’t handle sex work anymore.”
—u/acboyz2
17. “I don’t know if phone sex operators count, but here it is: I had a man call me, who kept pinging my line for three hours — even my manager had to tap in to make sure I wasn’t being lured or groomed and that the call was ‘genuine.'”
Did any of these stories surprise you? Both former and current sex workers, what was the most emotional job you’ve ever taken? Feel free to tell us in the comments or answer anonymously using the form below!
Dial 988 in the United States to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The 988 Lifeline is available 24/7/365. Your conversations are free and confidential. Other international suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org. The Trevor Project, which provides help and suicide-prevention resources for LGBTQ youth, is 1-866-488-7386.