She quit teaching at 51 after classroom burnout: 8 years later, Ella Love earns $100,000 cuddling strangers, and the reason clients keep coming back is unexpected

Ella Love, 51, left her teaching job in New York to build a career around something most people associate with friends, family or romantic relationships: a hug. She now works as a professional cuddler and can earn up to $100,000 a year, according to a report by the New York Post.

Her decision came after teaching became increasingly stressful. Limited classroom resources, recurring problems with students and little time for herself pushed her to look for a different kind of work. She wasn't initially planning to make cuddling her full-time career.

“I was looking for something with a completely different energy, something that would calm me and center me. I didn't think this would become my profession,” Love told the newspaper. She started with an online course and continued teaching for another six months before deciding to focus on cuddling.

Stress pushed her out of the classroom

Ella Love, 51, left her teaching career in New York because of stress, and she says she barely had any time for herself. Resources for education were scarce, and problems in the classroom were common.

She told the New York Post she wanted something with a completely different energy, something calming. She never expected it to become her profession, and her words suggest she was after relief more than a business.

She signed up for an online course and combined it with teaching for six months. Then she left the classroom to focus on hugs alone, and she’s now eight years in.

Most sessions last one to two hours, depending on the client. One ran as long as nine, which makes it the clear exception. Love says the work is simply an embrace, with no sexual component and no emotional attachment.

She screens clients beforehand to avoid unpleasant surprises. Not everyone is accepted, she says, because there’s a code of conduct and very clear boundaries. Screening lets her decline people before any contact begins, which matters when strangers spend hours in close contact.

Clients sometimes become aroused, and Love tells them that’s common before asking them to change position and relax so the hug can continue.

Who books her, and what it earns

Her clients are usually people who have trouble with physical interaction, and some are on the autism spectrum. Love provides them with a safe environment.

Reports say she can earn as much as $100,000 a year. That’s a maximum, not a salary, and the coverage doesn’t say what she charges or how many clients she sees. For scale only: $100,000 across 1,000 one-hour sessions would be $100 an hour before costs. That’s an illustration, not her reported rate.

Her case isn’t exceptional. Platforms already exist that are dedicated to connecting people with professional cuddlers, which suggests enough demand to support dedicated businesses, though the reports give no numbers.