Guys, don't get hooked on a hooker

She may look sweet and innocent, but your heart will be broken in the bitter end

You can blame Hollywood and Julia Roberts for making fools out of simple men. After the actress's convincing portrayal of an angelic hooker in the movie Pretty Woman, some easily deluded males in search of love actually believe they can rescue a lovely lady from life as a prostitute. It starts off as a fairy-tale romance, but there is only one ending - and it ain't pretty.

Take the case of American millionaire Robert Brot. After meeting a ravishing redhead on an online dating site, the 67-year-old property developer fell for her claim that she had turned to escorting and stripping to make ends meet. The 26-year-old stunner, Lindsey DeLeon, said she desperately wanted to end her days as a working girl.

In a storyline that mirrors the Hollywood hit movie with the wealthy widower played by Richard Gere, Brot fell for her tale and was soon deeply in love. He offered his sweetheart the opportunity to give up her life of sin, move in with him and train as an estate agent. Brot lavished more than $100000 on his adoring protégée and even offered to marry her.

But the romance came crashing down when the New York developer realised that she was still advertising her services on the Internet, describing herself as a "sweet southern redhead with natural DDDs" who had "a very naughty side". And, on a trip home to Oklahoma under the pretext of looking for a job, she began stripping again and advertising her services on adult websites.

A furious Brot is now suing her for the money he had spent on her, plus interest and legal fees. In papers filed in the Manhattan Supreme Court, the millionaire details how the woman had conned him by pretending to give up a life of vice.

He tells of how he fell in love with her and thought he was helping her turn her life around.

For Brot, the fairy tale wasn't meant to end in the courts. He believed it would end in a ride into the sunset.

In future, I am sure Brot will think twice before he decides to live out another Hollywood storyline.

But don't think only Westerners are conned by the force of a good movie.

A case that has grabbed the imagination of Singapore residents is that of a 64-year-old man identified only as "Mr Chen" who was duped into marrying a 40-year-old Chinese prostitute, Ah Ping. Mr Chen met his pretty woman at a shopping centre last year. She told him she was a graduate from China and had moved to Singapore to look for work.

While they were chatting, she was approached by three men asking her to provide them with sexual services. She declined and he offered her his protection from a life of vice. They soon began dating, with the recently widowed Mr Chen taking her on shopping trips. Finally, she asked him to marry her and he obliged.

When she could not find a regular job, she asked him for money to open a "sock shop". Only later did he discover from friends that she was back on the beat, and that "selling socks" meant she was selling her body. Mr Chen said his life became hell, with her treating him poorly and even resorting to hitting him. Worst of all, they had sex only three times - and it wasn't even good.

Luckily for him, the new Mrs Chen never gained residency status for Singapore and had to return to China, leaving Mr Chen nursing his wounds and the staid Asian nation with its most sizzling tale for years.

I'm sure there are hundreds of similar tales, but the one that really sticks out is the sad saga that befell Belarusian businessman Pavel Krasilnikov on a visit to the coastal resort of Pattaya in Thailand. The 33-year-old had been advised to visit the fun-filled holiday playground - known as a paradise for men seeking some sexual fun - to recover from his divorce. On his very first night there, he paid $30 to spend the night with a prostitute named Phiraya. After a night of passion with Phiraya, Krasilnikov asked her to stay with him for the next two weeks for $300. He was thrilled when she agreed, telling friends he had never had such a passionate romance. "She caressed me as if she knew all my secret desires," he said.

On his return to Belarus, he pined for Phiraya, despite warnings by friends that she was only after his money and that prostitutes never become good wives.

He proposed - but then discovered the truth: Phiraya was a transvestite who had become a woman, thanks to surgery. But her legal status had never been officially changed and she was still a man. She needed to sell her body to repay the cost of the operation.

Shocked but still in love, Krasilnikov decided to stick with his new love and help her pay off the debt. They moved in together and lived as man and wife as he worked to do so.

Of course, once his money ran out, things changed ... You know the ending to this one by now.

One can chuckle reading these tales, but it really is pitiful that people fail to see the wood for the trees (or the breasts for the silicone). So, gents, let's say it once and say it clear: Pretty Woman is just a movie. It's not real. You've got a better chance of getting Roberts to fall for you in real life - and you know what chance there is of that!