Category: Featured

One year ago this week, my life changed forever. On the afternoon of October 13^th, 2015, I walked into a VIP suite at a Las Vegas area legal brothel to spend time with my client and discovered that he was experiencing a drug overdose and was near death. The brothel was Dennis Hof’s Love Ranch, and the client was Lamar Odom. In the moments that followed, the Love Ranch staff scrambled to get help for the famous athlete and reality TV star. Thankfully, our efforts succeeded in providing the medical attention Lamar needed in time to save his life.

My life, however, was turned upside-down immediately thereafter. Before this incident, I was a very private woman who made the decision to discreetly work as a licensed prostitute in order to support myself and provide for my loved ones in a recessed economy. Very few people knew I was a sex worker, including my parents and my extended family. After Lamar was found unconscious and the tabloids got wind of the event, I found myself besieged by an army of press, clambering to learn the details of what occurred during Lamar’s stay at the ranch. My personal information and pictures of me were plastered everywhere. I was labeled as some sort of femme fatale and was all but forced to defend my reputation, and the reputation of Dennis Hof’s brothels, in the press. I was so overwhelmed by the media whirlwind, that I radically changed my appearance, moved to my hometown of Sacramento, CA, and went into hiding for some time.

Now, I’ve returned to work as a courtesan in Nevada’s legal brothels. In the past year, I feel that I’ve grown as a professional person and as a woman. I’ve had time to reflect on my experiences and on how the situation with Lamar changed my life and, perhaps, altered the legal brothel business forever. I feel compelled to answer a few questions that have been presented to me throughout this time, and finally reveal, in my own words, what it was like being a part of the frenzy that yielded Google’s top search term of 2015.

What really happened in the VIP suite between me and Lamar Odom?

Nothing happened sexually between me and Lamar, or between Lamar and any other sex worker, during his stay at the Love Ranch last October.

When Lamar arrived at the ranch and we all lined up for him, I was really excited. He’s a tall, gorgeous man and when he kept looking back at me as he was deciding on which girls to join him for some fun, I just knew he was going to pick me from the lineup. He did! He also chose Ryder Cherry and the two of us took him to the VIP suite to negotiate a price. Throughout this whole process Lamar was in a fantastic mood and I became increasingly excited about the great time we all were about to have. We decided on $75,000 for Ryder and I to be exclusive to him for the duration of his stay.

The three of us spent a short amount of time watching TV in the VIP suite, and then Lamar asked if he could have some time alone. We left him alone for an hour and then returned. He then asked us if he could have another 45 minutes alone. He spent a lot of time alone during his stay (we now know why), but I was determined to have sex with him. I was attracted to him and I wanted to give it to him good. On the second day of his stay it looked as if I would have my chance.

In between Lamar’s spurts of requested isolation, the first day was spent mostly chatting and drinking Hennessy. Lamar and I made a connection because we both were a little lonely due to recent losses in our lives: I had recently lost my boyfriend of eight years to a shooting and he was distraught over his estranged wife, Khloe Kardashian. On the second day, he appeared friskier, grabbing our butts and complementing our “heart shaped asses.” We joked around, compared our shoe sizes, and ate KFC (Lamar bought KFC for the entire ranch staff.)

As we were playing around, I took the opportunity to strip him naked and gave him a full body massage. I was determined to have my way with his ample sized penis, but he just couldn’t get it up. No matter what we did, and we did a lot, neither Ryder nor myself could sexually arouse Lamar.

No sex occurred while Lamar was at the Love Ranch. We talked, we laughed, and we shared our sorrows, but we didn’t have sex.

How did the Lamar Odom event affect my business?

The immense media firestorm surrounding last year’s events generated a great deal of interest in Nevada brothels in general, and in the Love Ranch in particular. While this renewed interest was perceived by many as being good for business, there was one aspect of my business that suffered terribly: celebrity clientele stopped seeing me.

Dennis Hof’s establishments get an impressive amount of celebrity and high-profile visitors, and we’re known for maintaining confidentiality and privacy for all of our clients. After Lamar overdosed, it was perceived by many of my high-profile clients that I was no longer discreet, or that I was the type of person to “kiss and tell.” Several public figures stopped seeing me and it took me most of the year to convince them that the Love Ranch wasn’t responsible for creating a media story.

Dennis does not allow illegal drugs on his properties. Lamar chose to go against this rule and do what he did to himself during his stay. Lamar is an addict and he overdosed on drugs, something that could have happened anywhere – a hotel, his home, the gym – anywhere. Unfortunately, Lamar, a celebrity, overdosed at my workplace, and I was unfairly recognized as one of the people who caused the resulting media circus. The only person responsible for this catastrophe is Lamar. I was caught up in the whirlwind, but I did not incite it.

I spoke with Dennis Hof numerous times about the negative impact this had on my business and he mentioned to me that he was considering suing Lamar for the damage done to Dennis’s reputation. I know that my professional reputation was severely, nearly fatally, tarnished by last year’s events, although I’m not sure if Lamar could be held legally responsible for the repercussions of this tragedy.

How did the Lamar Odom incident affect my personal life?

Immediately after last year’s events, I was slammed with countless emails and phone calls. I got death threats from people calling me a “celebrity killer.” People from my hometown and childhood came out of the woodwork to ask me for money or to ridicule me for choosing to be a sex worker.

It was incessant and terrible. But the most horrible part of my being exposed as a prostitute was the way it affected my 16 year old sister, who is more like a daughter to me and who I care for more than anyone else in the world. She was bullied by her peers and scorned because of the choices I made. I was never prepared for the media attention to affect her life, and I’ll never forgive myself for the unnecessary emotional damage done to her as a result of my unconventional lifestyle.

What did I learn from this experience?

When I became publicly known as a sex worker, I initially thought that my life was over. I believed that no one would take me seriously and that I would never again be in a genuine romantic relationship. Thankfully, I was wrong. In times of great turmoil, you really learn who your true friends are. Those close to me, including my sister, helped me get through the worst of this experience, and helped me become a stronger person because I got through it.

I learned that I can’t let what people say about me determine how I view myself or my profession. I learned to own the experiences, good and bad, that helped to make me the woman I am today.

I’m Monica Monroe. I’m a prostitute, and a good one at that. I’m also a friend, a lover, a sister, and a daughter. There’s more to me than any tabloid can reveal, and I’m proud of that.