Meet the woman who cuddles with strangers for $60 an hour

“Let’s hold hands and cuddle up on the couch, or listen to some soft music while we curl up in your bed — I am happy to be the big spoon or the little spoon.” This is one of the first things you’ll read when you visit Samantha Hess’s website, Cuddle Up To Me. At the age of 30, Hess is a professional cuddler. For $60 ( Rs 3,600) an hour, she’ll intimately snuggle with strangers of all types, and bring them one-on-one cuddle time without the complications of a relationship. The idea came to her in 2012, when she read an article about a guy with a ‘Free Hugs’ sign at a local Saturday market.

Another man stood next to him with a ‘Deluxe hugs, $2’ sign, and ended up getting more hugs than the first guy. “That was my lightbulb moment,” Hess says. “I was at a place in my life, out of a 13-year relationship, where I needed a service that didn’t exist.” So in May 2013, she started Cuddle Up To Me. A month later, a local newspaper featured her business. From there, the story spread to over 40 TV stations, accumulating over 17 million views — and her business took off. Currently, professional cuddling is her only job, and Hess says she is making far more money from this than she did in her previous jobs. “I never need to take more than five sessions a day,” she explains.

By working six days a week, Hess can make up to $7,200 (`4.4 lakh) in a month. About 90 per cent of her clientele are men between the ages of 20 and 75, and she says many suffer from severe traumatic diseases or disabilities that prevent them from having frequent human contact. What makes her service so great? Hess loves each and every one of her clients with a “human grace”. “It’s about being able to genuinely look anyone in the eye and make them feel loved and accepted exactly as they are,” she says. Although rewarding, Hess’s work doesn’t come without challenges.

“It can be tough, because my clients get attached to me,” she says. She is also quick to prevent any inappropriate actions, through her pre-set rules and boundaries, and transparency with clients. If she’s uncomfortable with anything, she gives her client two taps to signal for them to stop. This work also comes with its share of emotional burdens. “Some people have difficult emotional issues they want to talk about during our sessions.” To cope with this, she meditates before every session. She also showers and changes into different clothes before taking on her next client. Interestingly, Hess has a boyfriend who is very accepting of her service. “He knows what I do is a form of therapy and that it really makes a difference to people,” she says.