A self-proclaimed “trophy wife” with a 29-year age gap says she defrauded her husband by demanding a $1,000 weekly allowance.
Alyssa Armoogam, 30, met her husband Mark, 59, on a dating app when she set her sights on a “rich older man”.
The two hit it off, and Mark, an entrepreneur and investor, impressed Alyssa by giving her two children $300 to pay for her nanny.
She agreed to continue dating him if he met her conditions – paying for her beauty treatments and giving her a $1,000 weekly stipend to make her feel “safe”.
Now two years into her marriage, Alyssa still enjoys being bought romantic gifts — like vacations and designer handbags.
She hopes to encourage other women to “know their worth.”
Alyssa, an influencer from Miami, Florida, said: “If a guy is a jerk, I don’t care if he’s rich. Someone thinks I’m only with him because of his money. That’s one of my requirements, but because of that I don’t Would marry him. We really encourage the best in each other.
“We saw potential in each other,” she added.
Alyssa has always preferred dating older men – her first crush was Robert Downey Jr.
“My mom wasn’t surprised when I started dating older guys,” she said.
When she moved to Florida in 2018, Alyssa was “painful” and “over” her last relationship.
She decided to use a dating app, but she wanted someone who was wealthy, attentive, and considered faith an important aspect of life.
Alyssa’s first question to a potential date was, “How do you feel about Jesus?” Mark’s answer surprised her.
She said: “His response was interesting. He said ‘How do I feel about Jesus? I go all over the country talking about him.'”
“I thought ‘Wow, I didn’t expect this’. We hit it off from there.”
Her second request was “I’d like to see you, but you have to take care of the nanny”.
“If a guy is going to argue with me about $45 for a babysitter, he’s not worth my time,” Alyssa said.
When they first date, Alyssa is immediately attracted to Mark.
“His eyes really sparkled,” she said. “He had a very kind soul and his eyes sparkled. I really felt like I knew him. He ended up giving me $300 to pay for the babysitter.”
Mark immediately texted Alyssa, asking to see her again.
She said: “He was very insistent. I said ‘OK, here’s my terms – I want someone to pay for my nails, hair and waxing’. I wanted a $1,000 a week stipend to give myself security Feelings and wanting to be unique. He immediately sent me $2,000 and said I would never date anyone else.
“I love it because I feel like he made it 100 percent clear how he feels about me.”
The $2,000 Mark sent Alyssa meant she could put a down payment on an apartment for herself and her 11-year-old daughter, Zia, whom Mark has now adopted.
Their relationship flourished, and after two years together, Mark proposed in 2020.
The couple tied the knot in a small legal ceremony in April 2022, and welcomed their two-year-old son Keanu a month later.
Alyssa calls herself a “trophy wife,” but she considers her marriage to be very much a “partnership.”
“Anything I wanted to pursue I could do,” she said.
“Any dream I have will be shared, any wish will be fulfilled.
“I’m his biggest cheerleader.”
But Alyssa does enjoy being spoiled by Mark. She no longer receives a stipend because they split the money equally.
She said: “He’s such a Pisces. He’s very romantic.
“I told him I loved getting little gifts.
“He accepts and understands that.
“He took me shopping and bought me a Louis Vuitton.
“That’s his normal behavior. That’s him being in a relationship with me.”
Alyssa says the age gap doesn’t bother her or Mark, but some people jump to conclusions.
She said: “When people look at me, they make assumptions about who I am and my intentions because of my age and appearance.
“When people talk to me, they see how much love I have for my family.
“There’s no question why we’re together.
“He’s not an ugly fat guy.
“He’s a handsome young man.
“Age—what does it matter if our souls are the same?”
Alyssa is developing a clothing line for breastfeeding women and is considering creating a course called “Date Like a Trophy Wife.”
She said: “When I entered the dating scene I knew what kind of man I wanted.
“I know what I’m going to bring to that person’s life.
“This makes me more determined on myself.
“Women don’t realize their own worth.”