Probably shouldn't reveal my oops-not-a-secret-anymore addiction to Closer Magazine but, this is now my favourite story of recent times (I need a break from writing exhaustively about lipsticks every now and then, after all)
Truly wonderful stuff. http://www.closeronline.co.uk/RealL...lfriends.aspx?dateonline=Monday+23+March+2009'I prefer my dolls to real women'
Monday 23 March 2009
When Everard Cunion gave up on the idea of finding love with a real woman, he decided to buy affection instead – in the form of life-sized silicone dolls.
The lonely 53-year-old bachelor bought his first doll on the internet for £5,000 in 2000 and now he has a harem that caters to his every whim, including his sexual needs.
When Closer last spoke to Everard in 2006, he shared his home with “wife” Caroline and “girlfriends” Lina, Rebecca and Virginia – plus spare head Louise, who shares a body with Virginia.
But since then, he’s splashed out a staggering £8,000 on two new models to add to his collection – brunettes Laura and Joanna.
“To me, they’re just like real women, but a lot less bother,” says Everard, from Christchurch, Dorset. “They’ve all got
their own personalities.
“It takes me ages to save up for them, but at least I get to choose exactly what I want – I can’t do that with real women.”
Everard has only ever had one real girlfriend – back in the ’90s – although he admits it was a casual, on-off relationship.
“It lasted six years, but for many months at a time I wouldn’t see her at all,” he says. “I never had a contact number or address for her, so she’d just ring me out of the blue.”
Eventually, Everard’s girlfriend moved in with him, but they broke up soon after. “She moved in, but then my mother, who was in a nursing home nearby, died and then my brother moved in with us,” he explains. “When you add all that to how difficult I find it living with others, I’m not surprised we broke up.”
Finding it hard to meet new women, Everard soon gave up on them all together. “I’m no good at one-to-one interaction, especially with women,” he admits. “I figured my chances of finding a real girlfriend were close to zero and a doll would be the next best thing.”
It’s clear Everard no longer wants a real woman in his life, saying of his dolls:
“I can’t understand why more men don’t buy them. I’m sure real women must have something going for them, but as long as I’ve got money, I’ll keep buying the dolls.”
Like his other dolls, Laura and Joanna have malleable limbs and synthetic wigs. But at 4ft 6in, Laura – a slim, Japanese brunette with B-cup breasts – is half the weight of his other dolls, which can stand up to 5ft 7 tall. This is handy for Everard, who likes to have sex with them.
“Laura is much easier to lug upstairs to the bedroom,” he grins. “And I can get her into all sorts of positions – even turn her upside down – plus I can cross her legs.”
He insists his dolls aren’t just for sex and that they have their own personalities. “Laura’s an intellectual,” he boasts. “I don’t talk to her, but I often feel as if we’ve been having a conversation. It’s like she’s real.”
With the exception of Laura, who comes from Japan, all Everard’s dolls are made by an American company called RealDoll who market them as “the world’s finest love dolls.”
“When I saw my latest doll, Joanna, on the internet, I had to buy her,” he says. “I can hardly believe I get to bed such a beautiful woman. I get up to all sorts with her.”
Everard’s passion for dressing up his dolls means he spends more on their clothes than his own wardrobe – despite getting everything from charity shops. “I prefer vintage clothes,” he says. “I don’t like them to look tarty.”
The computer analyst spends most weekends alone with his dolls, but despite relying on them for physical and emotional companionship, he’s glad his office job gives him time away from them.
“They have such an overbearing presence, it’s a relief to get away from them at work,” he admits. “Sometimes I catch them out of the corner of my eye and think they’re moving. It’s completely imagined, but I just can’t help it.”
With so many dolls to choose from, Everard, who has his own website where he posts pictures of his dolls, admits that he can’t always remember their names. “I do tend to get the names of my newer dolls mixed up,” he says.
And he feels sorry when he neglects any for too long – especially Louise and Lina. “I feel guilty that Louise spends so much time as a face in a box,” he reveals. “But she shares her body with Virginia, who I find more alluring because she’s older.
“And Lina doesn’t get as much use because she’s heavy so she’s harder to lug up the stairs.” He also moans that during winter he has to warm up the dolls under electric blankets before taking them to bed. “Otherwise it’s like snuggling up to a 7st block of ice,” he explains.
But when the summer comes, Everard’s weekends will be tied up repairing any damage to his dolls – which he admits is sustained during energetic sex sessions.
“They are quite difficult to fix,” he confides. “Only industrial strength chemicals will do, so you have to be able to open a window to get rid of the fumes. Caroline has broken her back twice and Virginia now has a dislocated hip.”
Summer is also the time when Everard takes his dolls on trips to the seaside. Last year, he took Laura on a day trip to Poole Quay, so that he could take some holiday snaps of her. Inevitably, the sight of a 50-something man hauling a 5ft life-sized doll out of his car and down to the seafront drew plenty of stares from passers-by.
“By the time I’d left quite a crowd had gathered, but I really don’t care what other people think,” says Everard. “On the odd occasion, I’ve noticed other men giving my dolls the eye. I feel proud, but I wouldn’t let anyone have sex with them – I like to think I’m the only man they want to sleep with.”
But while Everard accepts that other people might find his doll obsession odd, he has no plans to give them up.
“The dolls fill a hole in my life and I can’t ever imagine being without them,” he says. “It’s my male instinct to have as many beautiful women in my life as possible.”
