Dân Trí: Woman earns 70 million dong/month by posing as a girlfriend and bride

(Dân Trí) - Cao Mei (from China) says that when posing as a bride or girlfriend, she always avoids physical contact with clients and keeps this occupation a secret from her parents.

According to SCMP, Cao Mei (20 years old, from Chengdu, China) is known for her work posing as a bride at weddings. The idea arose in 2018 when a friend asked her to play his girlfriend at a family gathering.

Realizing that many young Chinese people face pressure from expectations surrounding relationships and marriage, Cao Mei decided to launch a service posing as a bride to help them address this problem.

Over the past 7 years, Cao Mei has posed as a bride at 20 weddings. Her services are popular during holidays but are limited to staging and conducting ceremonies, without involving any legal formalities.

Before events, Cao Mei usually tries to carefully memorize basic information such as the other person's age, occupation and educational background, while also meeting in advance with the family of the groom.

At the ceremony, she wears a wedding dress, confidently interacts affectionately with the groom and fully enjoys her role.

Cao Mei said: "My work has exposed the intense pressure many families face under society's expectations. In particular, conflicts between generations often arise from this pressure. Some parents even help their sons arrange lavish fake weddings to receive wedding gifts while keeping the secret from guests."

In another case, a mother approached Cao Mei after her son's engagement ceremony was canceled due to financial difficulties, causing the news to spread widely. To avoid gossip from neighbors, she decided to hire Cao Mei to play the bride and hold a wedding.

Cao Mei calls herself a "real-life actress" and says there are many others in this industry who take on the roles of parents, bosses or children at clients' request.

In China, many online groups allow individuals to hire "real-life actors" for specific roles. However, this field has no standard pricing yet.

Cao Mei specializes in posing as a girlfriend and bride, earning 1.500 yuan (approximately 5 million dong) per day. Service fees vary depending on the requirements, from photo shoots and engagement ceremonies to receptions.

After graduating from vocational school, Cao Mei worked in supporting roles in films but earned only a few dozen yuan per appearance.

She realized that a few "real-life acting" contracts brought in more income than a regular job. On average, Cao Mei earns 20.000 yuan (more than 70 million dong) per month.

Despite her success, Cao Mei decided to hide her work from her family, falsely claiming to be an ordinary office worker. She worries that if the truth comes out, her parents will mistakenly believe she is involved in prostitution, even though she always maintains boundaries and avoids intimate contact with clients.

Cao Mei also acknowledged that the industry has faced many serious problems, including cases in which some actresses were threatened by clients, pressured into sexual acts or had their pay withheld.

He Bo - a lawyer at Sichuan Hongqi Law Firm - said: "Cao Mei's posing as a bride does not directly violate the law, but it carries the potential for fraud. If she uses false identity documents, commits fraud or impersonates officials, she could face legal risks."