For love or money

As I was reading up on the news this morning, I came across this interesting story, in Dubai of all places.  A young, unemployed Pakistani man called Ahmed has taken it upon himself to place a newspaper ad about his needs to find a rich woman to marry and financially support him. He’s made it quite clear that he won’t get a job and wants to enjoy the life of a Jumeirah Jim. What the?!?

And the scariest thing is, women are actually calling him! Primarily from filipino ladies apparently, although I can imagine there would’ve been prank calls aplenty. What surprises me the most is this guy’s honesty. Sure we all want a partner that can provide, but most of us wouldn’t have the guts to declare to the world they would marry only for money.

Which brings me to my topic today, would you ever consider a man’s materialistic wealth (or lack thereof) to be a deciding factor in your relationship? For love or for money?

A lot of women (including me) would dream to have a Mr. Big buy you a New York penthouse complete with a closet the size of a small town packed to the rafters with Jimmy Choos. However, we don’t exist in a rom com movie (unfortunately) and the modern reality is that if we really want a closet full of designer shoes, we’re going to have to work to get it for ourselves. We shouldn’t have to rely on the Mr Big’s to support us and carry us through, because, as I’ve learnt, money aint gonna make you happy.

I don’t think I could ever develop a relationship with a man solely for the reason that he could buy me presents galore. I’m not for sale, and neither is my love. On the other hand, I am in awe of women who can purposely manipulate a man to buy them gifts, without the need for their love in return. These are clever, clever women and whilst I don’t praise their materialistic values, I do admire their tenacity.  In the same way I admire this Ahmed guy. It seems a bit strange that a man wants to be provided for, but at least he has the balls to know what he wants, regardless of what we all might think. Although I’m not sure if there will be a woman out there who would want a man who can’t provide for himself? Hmmm, well… unless he is utterly, inexplainably, unbelievably, out-of this-universe, gorgeously handsome (and similarly well endowed)… but I suppose I’ll have to save that argument for another topic altogether. For now, I’ll go back to daydreaming about a closet full of shoes…