Technology has expanded the ability of people to meet others who they otherwise may have never met in a purely paper-based world. Indeed, entrepreneurs have developed various dating websites and social apps that permit people to find, among other things, the "love of their life". However, these websites can be fraught with risk and users must carefully consider and navigate their use. Friendships or relationships that are developed online are not immune to the frailties of friendships or relationships that arise as a result of face-to-face encounters.
As the fictional Forrest Gump said to a stranger as he waited for a bus to meet "his" Jenny: "My momma always said life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. In Ramal-Shah v. Jones , ONSC , a website called "Seeking Arrangement" allowed the plaintiff, and the defendant, K, to develop a virtual relationship. The website was promoted to bring "sugar babies", young people generally in need of financial assistance, together with "sugar daddies", wealthier older people, for the purposes of "sugar dating" or "sugaring".
Sugaring is a transactional dating practice where the wealthier person provides cash or gifts to the younger person whose is in financial need. In this case, the plaintiff was working at an investment bank and had a background in law and business. K was a university student. They were approximately 12 years apart in age.
Their virtual relationship began in May However, shortly after the plaintiff and K's only face-to-face meeting in August , where K was unable to set any boundaries to their relationship, the relationship began to lose its lustre.
Although the parties had agreed at the face-to-face meeting that they could continue to meet virtually, the plaintiff eventually became very possessive of K. K began to avoid contact with the plaintiff. She told him that they could not meet because she had broken her leg or that she was undergoing cancer treatments.
