United Kingdom-based Embrace Connections is one such service. (Image credit: embrace-connections.com)
The times are tough and we could all use comforting hugs but would you be willing to pay for them?
A professional cuddler in the United Kingdom is charging what some would consider a big amount to shell out for a hug.
Named Trevor Hooton, they had started a service called Embrace Connections earlier this year. It offers customers cuddle therapy, connections coaching and massages.
Embrace Connections describes its cuddle therapy as a "platonic and consensual exploration of needs and desires".
"It can include holding and being held in different positions, sharing different qualities of touch, talking, being present and focused on each other," its website says. "The most important thing is how you feel."
One cuddle therapy session with Embrace Connections would cost 75 pounds (more than Rs 7,000).
But why would someone choose to pay for hugs when you could get them from your loved ones for free?
Embrace Connections said often, in their personal lives, people do not have access to the intimacy that they desire.
"You might want a specific type of person to cuddle you," it added. "You may want it at a certain time or place. You may want to receive care with no expectation to give back. You might want a quality cuddle that you can’t get from your people."
Hooten, who founded Embrace Connections, said many people struggled to forge connection with others.
"That's where I step in -- it's more than just cuddling, it's giving people the things they need, whatever that might be," they told The Independent. “I built a business based on my passions for building human connections."
Hooton said some people take time to accustomed to their cuddle therapy. It has also been confused with sex work.
“It's always a non-sexual, platonic intimacy, based on whatever the person wants,” they added.
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