'I'm 51, single and having the best sex of my life.'

After leaving an abusive relationship, Emily's* trust in men vanished for almost a decade.

"It had been eight years since I'd had any sex or any intimacy of any sort," Emily — who is now 51 — told Mamamia.

"I left a violent relationship, and I just didn't trust anybody and didn't want to go out with any men."

It was ultimately her friends who encouraged her to consider a luxury male escort service called Her Confidant.

"I knew that the guys go through police checks and all sorts of other checks as well. So I felt a bit more safe."

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Those checks include a 35-question psychological assessment, multiple in-person meetings, real-life trial bookings with trusted triallists, police and background checks, and continuous health checks.

"Modern dating is a mess," said founder Anna Grosman.

"The ghosting, the dick pics, the emotional labour, the lack of emotional intelligence and the overall disappointment make the whole experience quite daunting for most women. On top of that, most men aren't great at sex. They don't know how to listen, how to read a woman's body, or how to put her pleasure first."

Before meeting with her escort for the first time, Emily made it clear what she likes when it comes to pleasure.

"There was a fairly long conversation with Anna about what I wanted, what I liked, what I'd been through, that sort of thing," she told Mamamia. "She matched me with somebody who she believed would be a lot more sensitive, caring."

Then it was time to meet him.

"We met up somewhere in public, so I could sort of suss it out, so to speak. As soon as he turned up, it was really relaxing, and the conversation just flowed. He was quite a little bit flirty, which was nice."

The five-hour booking began at a nice bar in Sydney, before moving to a more private setting.

"The first couple of hours, we were just having a few drinks at a bar, and then we went home. It was all very intimate. He lit candles and put some music on, and it was lovely. It was really nice."

While the escort boasts that he gave Emily 25 orgasms that night, she laughed off the claim as an exaggeration.

"It was six," she corrected, adding that it was still a remarkable feat.

"It was the most relaxed and most safe I've ever felt, ever, with a man. And that's probably why I had a few multiples. I just suddenly felt really confident and like a woman again."

Grosman has seen this transformation in many clients.

"For so many women, being with a companion completely shifts their perspective, not just on intimacy, but on themselves. They feel more confident, more in tune with their bodies, and more open to experiencing pleasure in every part of their lives. They stop asking for permission and start choosing themselves."

While there is often a misconception that women who access these services are "desperate", the founder says that simply isn't the case.

"For decades, men have accessed these services without stigma; it's been normalised, accepted, even expected. But the moment a woman chooses intimacy on her terms, society assumes she must be lacking something. Why? Because a woman who fully owns her pleasure is still seen as disruptive. The world fears a woman in tune with her sexual energy."

Most of the women who seek out these services are also actively dating, have been married, or are in relationships, Grosman said.

"Some women simply want to explore without the emotional complications of traditional dating," she added.

For Emily, while this experience has changed her perspective on intimacy, she's not ready for traditional dating just yet.

"I still don't want to rush out and meet the first guy at a bar," she said. "I'm quite happy to probably use the service a few more times before I do anything else like that. I feel confident and safe with that agency. So I'll just keep using that for a while, maybe forever."

In particular, Emily appreciated that the agency was founded by a woman who provided support throughout the process.

"Anna [the CEO] was messaging me up until he got there to make sure I was okay. She rang me straight after he left. 'Are you okay?" she recalled. "So you had that support by another woman, which is really, I think, important."

Grosman believes services like hers represent a significant shift in how women approach pleasure and intimacy.

"Women are rewriting the rules of intimacy. Pleasure is no longer an indulgence — it's self-care, it's therapy, it's as fundamental to well-being as exercise or mental health support. Just as we invest in a great therapist, a personal trainer, or a skincare routine, women are starting to see pleasure as something worth investing in, too. And the best part is they're doing it without apology."

As for Emily, she's already booked another session with the same companion, who will be flying to see her in May.

"The future of this industry belongs to women," said Grosman.

Feature Image: Getty.

*Emily's name has been changed for privacy reasons. Image is a stock image.