INSIDE EDITION spoke with the owner and some clients of a controversial new dating website that pairs couples to go on blind dates in foreign countries.
You've never heard of a blind date like this. A couple is meeting for the first time, not in America, but in a foreign country. They are in the Bahamas and the guy is footing the bill.
They met on a controversial website, misstravel.com , where 'attractive' women sign up to go on luxury vacations with 'generous' men.
Twenty-eight-year-old Justin Arledge is an insurance executive from Ardmore, Oklahoma. He was traveling to the Bahamas anyway and figured, "Why not bring along a date?"
He had hundreds of girls to choose from. Many had sexy, even provocative profiles, like "hot daddy's girl' or one girl who asks, "maybe u will be my boyfriend?"
He chose 19-year-old Haley Kerr, a waitress from Denver, Colorado.
Kerr told INSIDE EDITION, “I was definitely nervous about coming to a different country with someone I had never met before.”
They exchanged e-mails and spoke on the phone, but otherwise were strangers when they met at the airport.
Since it's launch last summer, misstravel.com has come under intense criticism, labeled "creepy" and a "high flying escort service".
Megan Alexander spoke to the website's founder, Brandon Wade.
Alexander asked, “How is this different from prostitution?”
Wade said, “There is no money exchanged.”
“It's a free trip,” replied Alexander.
Wade said, “It is a free trip, but your friend could give you a free trip.”
Arledge told INSIDE EDITION, “If Haley was my girlfriend, I’d pay for it anyway.”
Arledge and Kerr checked into separate rooms at the luxury Grand Lucayan resort, and then it was off for a swim with dolphins.
Soon it became clear they're hitting it off, big time. On the boat ride back to the hotel, they had their first kiss.
That night, they held hands all through dinner.
Arledge said, “We are getting along very well.”
Kerr said, “I like him. He's really funny, sweet, caring. There's definitely a connection.”
But we had to ask, does Kerr feel obligated to get romantic with Arledge because of his generosity?
"I don't feel like I owe him anything. The fact that he's paying for everything makes it seem normal to me. It's what I'm used to, I guess, with boyfriends." Kerr said.
