'I was a sugar baby': Lisa Ling reveals she once dated a wealthy older man and was seduced by his luxury lifestyle

  • Married TV host said the man called Tom would take her around the world
  • Former host of The View said he would take her on yacht cruises 
  • Believes that he wanted her to give up her job so he could look after her 
  • Described how she quickly became 'sucked into his vortex' 
  • Made admission ahead of new series about young women finding men who can financially support them 

Lisa Ling, 41, said she started seeing a man called Tom, who was much older than she was, in her early 30s and would travel the world with him

Lisa Ling, 41, said she started seeing a man called Tom, who was much older than she was, in her early 30s and would travel the world with him

Lisa Ling has revealed that she once had a sugar daddy and became 'seduced' by the luxury lifestyle they lived together.

The married TV host, 41, said she started seeing a man called Tom, who was much older and wealthier than she was, in her early 30s and would travel the world with him.

The mother-of-one, who is about to front a new show called This is Life with Lisa Ling, described how he would take her on yacht cruises in the Mediterranean and would go on shopping sprees with her in Rome.

Even though the former co-presenter of The View has travelled around the world as a reporter, she was taken to destinations new to her, and quickly became 'sucked into his vortex'. 

She made the admission as part of a new series called which focuses on women who look to get into relationships with sugar daddies in a bid to get financial support.

Writing for CNN, she said: 'I met "Tom", who was much older and more successful than me. 

'We started dating in my early 30s at a time when my career had me traveling all over the world to report stories. I was neither looking for a relationship nor cared to be in one.'

'It started to become glaringly apparent that I was being seduced by a lifestyle. I was becoming a sugar baby. Or at least, that's how I felt'. 

She said that before she met Tom, she developed a strong desire for self-sufficiently after growing up as a 'fiercely independent woman' and 'die-hard feminist'

For her it was 'personal' as her parents had always fought over money-related issues during their divorce when she was just seven years old. 

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Tom liked her because of her 'independent spirit', but she thinks he quickly started to hope that she would give up her job so he could look after her.

'He was not at all a bad person, but increasingly, I was starting to feel owned and that I was losing myself,' she added. 

During the first show of the series, she interviews a woman who has signed up to SeekingArrangements.com to find 'sugar daddies' - or older, richer men who would spoil them. 

The married TV host (pictured at the Golden Globe Awards when she was 32) said she started seeing the older man in her early 30s and quickly became 'sucked into his vortex'

The married TV host (pictured at the Golden Globe Awards when she was 32) said she started seeing the older man in her early 30s and quickly became 'sucked into his vortex'

The 41-year-old, who married oncologist Dr Paul Song in 2007 (pictured), said she became 'sucked into his [Tom's] vortex' as he took her on yacht cruises in the Mediterranean and shopping sprees in Rome

The 41-year-old, who married oncologist Dr Paul Song in 2007 (pictured), said she became 'sucked into his [Tom's] vortex' as he took her on yacht cruises in the Mediterranean and shopping sprees in Rome

Alongside her long list of TV accolades, she and her husband have a one-year-old daughter called Jett 

Alongside her long list of TV accolades, she and her husband have a one-year-old daughter called Jett 

She goes to a party where young women try to find a suitor. All of the attendees are in masks and some of the men are married. 

Ling then interviews some of them, asking them why they want to pick a partner using the method. 

One admits they were homeless when they went on their first 'sugar date' while others used it as an opportunity to go to college because they had nothing.  

Ling was 26-years-old when she chosen from an estimated 12,000 young women who applied to be the new View co-host in 1999 after Debbie Matenopoulos left the show. 

After leaving the show in 2002, she started to focus on international reporting, with a series of documentaries. 

Ling married Paul Song, an oncologist, in May 2007, five years after leaving the morning show. 

In October 2012 Lisa announced on Anderson Cooper's talk show that she and husband Paul Song were expecting their first child, a baby girl. She gave birth to a daughter named Jett Ling Song on March 8 last year.

She made the admission as part of a new series focusing on women who look to get into relationships with sugar daddies in a bid to get financial support

She made the admission as part of a new series focusing on women who look to get into relationships with sugar daddies in a bid to get financial support

Some of the girls she interviewerd said they use sites like SeekingArrangement.com because they have no money and no one to turn to

Some of the girls she interviewerd said they use sites like SeekingArrangement.com because they have no money and no one to turn to

 

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