“The Lover Boy” Method: How Andrew Tate Allegedly Lured and Captured His Victims

WWYW ​|​18 February 2023​|​WWYW News Bulletin

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably already heard in the news that notorious media personality Andrew Tate is currently serving time in a Romanian prison after authorities arrested him for multiple serious offences.

Tate, along with his brother and two other accomplices were charged with a string of serious offences including human trafficking, assault and sexual assault against victims who were believed to have been held captive by the group.

It is believed that Tate, and his accomplices, lured his victims using a method of psychological manipulation known as the ‘lover boy’ method. A term we will look at more closely later in this article.

Now, in all honesty, we probably shouldn’t be giving Andrew Tate anymore more media attention and coverage then he has already received.

After all, his rise to internet notoriety over the last couple of years has largely been influenced by the rapid spread of his controversial views and opinions across various social media platforms.

However, due to the seriousness of the alleged criminal activity and the influence Tate has over his fanbase, we believe it is important to cast a spotlight on his crimes in order to educate readers and prevent further victimisation.

In particular, we’ll look at the ‘lover boy’ method and how Tate used this psychological manipulation to lure and exploithis victims for profit.

So Who is Andrew Tate?

But before we ahead get ahead of ourselves, it is important we first ask who is Andrew Tate?

Tate is a former professional kickboxer turned internet and business personality who rose to notoriety last year after his controversial views gained immense popularity across social media.

In essence, Tate has used his platform to promote views that undermine the role and respect for females in society in favour of a return to patriarchal dominance. This includes his advocation that women should return to adopting traditional gender roles and remain in the domestic sphere in order to serve their male partners. Tate has used this personal ideology to claim that men have a right to physically punish their female partners.

Further controversy has also arisen from his claims that victims of sexual assault are partly to blame for their own victimisation.

These views have resonated largely among young and sexually deprived men who have amassed enormous support of Tate across social media. On TikTok alone, his content has been viewed more than 12.7 billion times.

Tate’s enormous rise in such a short amount of a time has blind-sided many, especially in the age of the #METOO movement where there has been an enormous wave to denounce alleged persecutors and advocators of abuse.

What is the ‘lover boy’ method?

So now we’ve briefly looked at Tate’s rise to notoriety, we’ll now jump back to the allegations of his misconduct.

In short, it is believed that Tate lured his victims using a method of psychological manipulation known as the ‘lover boy’ method.

The lover boy method is a form of mental manipulation in which a man seduces a young and vulnerable person, usually female, over a period of time in order to groom them for later sexual and/or economic exploitation.  

Often, perpetrators will mislead their victims with promises of a relationship and commitment for the purposes of later profiting of them.

This psychological coercion has been observed to have severe consequences upon a victim’s physical and mental state. Victims often experience a state of mind likened to Stockholm syndrome where they maintain feelings of love towards their oppressor despite the abuse they are experiencing. As a result of this mental state, victims are susceptible to further physical abuse.

How Tate used the ‘lover boy’ method to lure victims

In Tate’s case, the internet personality is alleged to have coerced numerous vulnerable women into becoming web girls.

Through platforms such as Instagram, Tate would privately message women and mislead them with promises of forming relationships, and in at least one case proposing a marriage, in order to coerce them under his control.

Many of Tate’s victims travelled as far as Romania in order to pursue what they believed would be a relationship.

Instead of happiness however, Tate’s victims were met with the reality of his business model.

It is alleged that Tate used his influence to coerce these women into performing sex work at his luxury home. This included the performance of sexual acts on themselves and others in front of live online audiences of paying viewers.

Tate would then reap the royalties accumulated by this model without any regard for his victims. Victims who failed to make a profit were removed by Tate who would disregard any façade he had previously made about his romantic commitments to the victim.

It is estimated that Tate had at least 70 women working for him simultaneously who were mostly working from his home in Romania. Authorities allege that Tate formed relationships with at least half these women at one point in time. It is also alleged that none of his ‘girlfriends’ were in the adult film industry prior to him meeting them.

What now?

After evidence of Tate’s misconduct and location reached authorities, Romanian police seized the influencer’s hide outlate last year, arresting him and his companions for the serious offences of sexual assault, assault and trafficking.

At the time of writing this, Tate and his brother are being held in preventive custody in Romania as police investigate the serious allegations against them.

If found guilty, Tate and his companions are likely to spend a significant amount of time locked behind bars.

Despite the expected wave of condonement of Tate’s actions a significant portion of his fan base have defended the influencer.

The rise of these ‘incels’ represents a problem larger than Tate itself as it reflects a concerning shift in the mentality of a significant portion of the male youth demographic.

For now, we can only wait and see what the future holds for this matter.

More to come

If you or anyone you know is a victim of abuse or violence of any kind please reach out to 18000 Respect on this number:  

1800 737 732.