"After 20 Years as an Escort, I've Seen Countless Unusual Requests—But Now Couples Are Struggling to Afford Threesomes Amid Rising Living Costs"

LIKE countless businesswomen across the country, Emily Payne has seen firsthand the effects of the cost-of-living crisis.

But her dip in sales is different to most sole traders – it’s the number of married couples wanting to book her for a threesome.

Escort Emily Payne from the North East of England Credit: Andy Commins

Emily is an escort who has seen it all in her nearly two decades of selling sex.

She charges £170 an hour, but that doubles when it’s a threesome. And with household budgets under huge strain, it’s no surprise that adventurous couples are cutting back.

Emily tells the Sun: “Threesomes are a bit less popular now as ‘s tighter for everyone and they are quite expensive.

“It’s usually very easy with a married couple, as they are both up for it and tend to both go away satisfied.

“It might surprise people, but it’s often the woman who is the driving force behind it.

“But I have noticed a drop off in them, which I can only put down to the crisis.”

Spiralling household costs haven’t put off her bread and butter clients, though – married men.

She says: “There are millions of clients out there. Women who do it full-time and work hard can clear £3,000 a week.

“The average client is just that – Mr Average. People expect some sort of pervert or weirdo, but it isn’t.

Emily is an escort who has seen it all in her near two decades of selling sex Credit: Andy Commins Spiralling household costs haven’t put off her bread and butter clients, though – married men Credit: Andy Commins

“It’s a normal, average bloke who is almost always married or has a long-term girlfriend and who wants a bit of attention.

“And what they ask for is almost always the same. Around 90 per cent of the time, it’s very vanilla, massage, b**w job, sex. It’s only rarely that you get a request that is really unusual.

“One man wanted to ride around on my back like I was a horse. When he contacted me to arrange it, he told me he had knee pads for me, which I thought was nice.

“The first thing I asked him was, ‘How much do you weigh?’

Nothing truly shocks Emily after her years on the job having sex with thousands of men Credit: Andy Commins Emily sees fewer clients than she used to and is planning to retire soon Credit: Andy Commins

“Thankfully, he was only little, and when I got to his house, I thought, actually, you’re like a little jockey.

“So he got on my back, I had the knee pads on, which were absolutely brilliant, and we would clip-clop around his living room.

“Another man wanted me to lie on him while we watched television. He put a duvet on his floor, lay on his stomach and I lay on top of him. We put some 80s pop videos on and just lay there watching them.

“Then he wanted me to reach around and put my fingers up his nose and pull his head back and make his nose bleed. I did it, but afterwards, I did think, ‘That’s weird’.

“He also wanted me to dress as a ninja and lie in wait for him behind his garden shed to jump out on him when he got home from his night shift at 6am.

“I thought that was ridiculous, so instead we agreed I would do it from behind a bedroom door when he was in the house.

“He wanted me to leap on him and knock him to the floor, but when I did it, I couldn’t knock him over as he was quite a big bloke, so I ended up just with my arms and legs around him, sort of clinging on.”

Despite those bizarre requests, nothing truly shocks Emily after her years on the job, having sex with thousands of men, but there are some requests which even she struggles to comprehend – and some which send her straight to the police.

She says: “Ball-busting is quite popular when men want me to inflict pain on their nether regions.

“They contact me and basically say, ‘Will you kick the s**t out of my balls?’

“That’s quite popular, actually. Or they want me to stand on their scrotum with a stiletto heel.

“I’ve done it, but you’ve got to be careful, you don’t want to actually send them to A&E and I don’t want to get done for assault.

“There are things I won’t do, such as taboo, illegal activities.

“I know it’s hard for most people to understand, but there are men who ask for that.

“One man wanted to book me to rape his wife. He said she would be tied up, and he wanted me to come in and rape her.

“It reminded me of the case of Gisèle Pélicot in , who was raped by lots of men arranged by her husband.

“I was fascinated by that case and have just finished her book, which was incredible. She is such a strong woman.

“When I got that request, I was, of course, horrified and reported it to the police, though I am sure he was using a burner phone, so there is probably nothing they could do.”

Emily, 51, grew up in the North East with her parents and older sister.

After leaving school at 16, she had a string of low-paid, dead-end jobs, which meant she was always struggling to make ends meet.

When she got to her early 30s, she was so fed up with never having enough money that she decided to give sex work a go after reading about how much escorts could earn.

After researching various agencies in , she chose one which offered the best rates.

Emily says: “I met the man who ran it in one of the apartments he rented for girls to work from on Newcastle’s Quayside.

“He was nice, and we got on. It was just like any other job interview.

“I was outgoing, confident and adventurous, and he offered me the job there and then, and I started that night.

“It was a really easy first client. A youngish lad who was nervous, shy and very vanilla in what he wanted.

“Thank God he wasn’t a weirdo, as that might have put me off.

“It was £120 an hour with the agency taking £30. I saw a second client on that first shift, then called it a night, went home and felt elated when I counted my money.

“I didn’t feel ashamed, I was just chuffed that the money was coming in.

“I quickly got into a routine and got to learn what clients are like.

“Some men want to get it over and done with quickly because they feel so awkward being there.

“Others just want to talk, which I am happy about. The more I am talking, the less I am having sex.

“Once you get down to sex, there are loads of tricks to speed things up.

“The main one when you’ve been doing it for a while, and it’s getting painful or tedious, is to switch positions so he is behind.

“In no time at all, he is done. It works every single time.”

‘Prison with Rose West’

Emily ended up in the same jail as killer Rose West after she was caught running a brothel Credit: PA:Press Association

Emily eventually set up her own agency, but fell foul of the law when Northumbria Police launched a crackdown.

After admitting to keeping brothels for prostitution, she was jailed for eight months at Newcastle Crown Court in 2015 and ended up in Low Newton, Co Durham, the same as serial killer .

Emily says: “You would see her walking around, but she was always escorted by staff, to stop her being attacked, I guess.

“Other prisoners pretty much left me alone as no-one cared about my offence.

“After I was released, I went straight back to it but this time as an independent, working for myself, doing my own advert online and hiring a room to work from.

“There is nothing glamorous or sexy about it. Most of the day I spend hours dealing with moronic texts from men who can’t send a longer message than ‘u working?’

“I ignore those. They expect to have sex with you but can’t even say hello or bother typing out ‘you’ instead of ‘u’.

“And timewasters are a huge problem. I reckon about 20 per cent of blokes who book to visit you don’t turn up.

“My favourite clients are ones who are quick and clean.

“I’ve never fancied a client. For me, it’s purely business, but I do know working girls who have, or have even dated one. You can guess how that ended up.

“My own sex life is totally separate and totally private and nothing to do with my work.

“It’s not Emily having sex with the clients, they are the ones having sex, I just happen to be there when they do.

“Most bookings are in-calls as men generally don’t want you to go to their homes and don’t want to book a hotel.

“But some will book you to come to their house. I can’t believe the risks some of the married ones take, as they will book me when their wife is just out for the night.

“She could come back any minute, and then he’d be in trouble, but it doesn’t seem to bother some men.”

She sees fewer clients than she used to and is planning to retire soon, hoping to swap life as a working girl for one writing about it and doing public speaking.

She has written a book about her exploits called Sex is Hard Work, has launched a channel and does talks at WI meetings, which she hopes will eventually develop into a speaking tour.

Despite earning thousands over the years – she declares every penny to the , entering ‘sex worker’ as her sole trader role on her tax return – she has only one word of advice for anyone thinking about doing it: “Don’t”

The cost of living crisis has triggered an explosion in the number of women going into sex work as they struggle to keep their families heads above water.

In one city, researchers found that there were 180 online ads for sex ads a year ago, now there are 1,400.

But despite that, Emily, who is single and has never had a long-term relationship, urges women thinking about it to consider another path.

She says: “I’ve never felt shame about it or embarrassment, and I’ve no regrets, but to other women I would say don’t do it.

“I ask anyone who comes to me for advice, ‘Have you exhausted every other possibility? Is there nothing else you can do instead?’

“People think there’s some sort of excitement and glamour to it and it’s easy money.

“But there is a reason I called my book Sex is Hard Work. It’s really hard, and you earn every penny.

“And it does have knock-on effects on other areas of your life, such as your emotions, on everything really.

“So my advice is, don’t do it. I do not advocate sex work. I absolutely don’t.”