SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Jacqueline Samuels cuddles men for a living

Nov 7, 2012, 1:07 PM | Updated: 3:06 pm

Jacqueline Samuels came on the Dori Monson Show to talk about her very non-traditional job: she cuddles men for a living, 15 hours a week.

“That’s what I do all day, is snuggle,” said Jacqueline on the Dori Monson Show.

For $60 an hour, or roughly $260 a day, 29-year-old Jacqueline will invite men (and women) into her home in upstate New York and cuddle in one of her many comfortable armchairs, couches, or her bed upstairs. She calls her house The Snuggery.

Jacqueline is currently working on her master’s degree at the University of Rochester, and started her business to help put her through school and to support her young son.

She also truly believes in the power of touch.

“I am passionate about touch. I’ve traveled all over the world, interacted with diverse cultures, and noted that Americans distinctly lack non-sexual touch,” says Jacqueline on her website. “I understand the role touch plays in our sense of well-being and overall health.”

Jacqueline is up-front with her clients about the non-sexual aspect of her business.

“Pajamas stay on at all times, and then I tell people what areas on my body are okay to touch and not okay to touch and that helps keep it non-sexual,” said Jacqueline.

Her clients are mostly men, but their backgrounds vary greatly by age, income, and many other factors.

Jacqueline firmly believes that everyone needs to be touched, but Dori wondered if there is some sort of emotional reason that men would want to pay $60 an hour to snuggle with Jacqueline.

Dori would love to be able to lay down in bed for a living, but Jake said he wouldn’t be able to cuddle with strangers.

Jacqueline, however, has been so successful in her venture that she has recruited a second woman to cuddle paying clients.

Since people started telling her story Jacqueline has become a controversial figure, with some people accusing her of being a prostitute. Some people think what she is doing is unethical and immoral, akin to an emotional affair since some of her clients are married.

Recently, officials at her university have even threatened to expel her.

There’s nothing illegal about what she’s doing – why is she so controversial?

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