LaoDong: Partner rental services boom for family introductions during Tết

Prices range from a few hundred thousand to several million đồng

While "lurking" in the Partner Rental group, Nguyễn Hằng (24 years old, Hà Nội) said she works independently and is not affiliated with any agency or company. Hằng has been pretending to be a girlfriend for people who need one for several months now.

Depending on the client's needs and requirements, Nguyễn Hằng quotes different prices, ranging from 500 thousand đồng to several million đồng. Rental fees are charged by the day or hour. To avoid unnecessary risks, Nguyễn Hằng meets clients in person for a thorough discussion before the two sides sign an agreement.

Clients find Nguyễn Hằng mainly through Facebook groups. The young woman usually takes bookings for family gatherings, with both parties agreeing on a script so they know what to say to the parents.

"Most people who seek out this service do so because their families are pressuring them to get married. After each meeting, clients often send me messages thanking me profusely because I have helped them escape the pressure and reduce family arguments during Tết. That makes me very happy” - Nguyễn Hằng said with a smile.

After learning about services offering girlfriends for family introductions through social media, Lê Đình Hoàng (31 years old, Phú Thọ) decided to try his luck. Having spent 2 million đồng/day to hire a girlfriend to travel from Hà Nội to Phú Thọ for a year-end meal with his family, Hoàng felt it was worth it.

"My parents have been urging me to get married for years, but the nature of my work leaves me little time to get to know anyone. During a conversation with friends, they suggested a girlfriend rental service. I looked into it myself and connected with a female office worker aged 23.

After agreeing on how to behave, what to wear, and how to travel, I "settled on a price" of 2 million đồng for this "family introduction". Everything went smoothly, and I still keep in touch with her. Surprisingly, we share many interests. I have considered getting to know her with a serious relationship in mind" - Hoàng said with a smile.

Finding the right person is difficult

For many single people, Tết is truly a nightmare as they face thousands of questions such as: Why don't you have a partner yet? Where is your partner, and why haven't you brought them home to meet us? When are you getting married?... Many are even pressured by their parents to marry and have children. With no other option, they have to reassure their families by finding someone to bring home for an introduction. However, finding the right person is very difficult.

Following friction and disagreements with his parents over getting married, Nguyễn Đại (35 years old, Hà Nội) turned to a partner rental service. But Đại said it is genuinely very difficult to find someone suitable to pretend to be his girlfriend.

Although she would only be a “pretend girlfriend", Đại's criteria are that she should be good-looking, polite, and decent so that his parents feel reassured, rather than simply picking anyone to bring home.

“There are many groups offering this service. You only need to put up a post or comment on someone else's post, and someone will immediately message you. The groups operate on Facebook and Zalo, and almost all their members use fake accounts, so I remain skeptical about how trustworthy this service is” - Đại said.

Đại also expressed concern about this service because, although it has recently boomed in Việt Nam, it is not yet truly widespread. Users should therefore only use services provided by reputable companies and organizations to protect their personal information as well as their own safety.