Well, love is expensive, but apparently for Julia Varvaro, it might also come with an investigation.
The 29-year-old Trump-era official is now making headlines, and not the polished, political kind. This one involves a jilted “sugar daddy,” a $40K price tag, and a relationship that lasted about as long as a free trial subscription.
According to reports, Varvaro has been placed on leave after her ex-boyfriend filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). His claim? That during their three-month romance, he spent a cool $40K on her, and now feels very, very played.
Three months, forty thousand dollars. That’s roughly $13K per month, or if you want to feel worse about your own finances, about $433 a day. Love might be priceless, but this situation clearly came with a receipt.
“Julia Varvaro is on administrative leave as a result of the investigation and she is no longer serving in her capacity as a Deputy Assistant Secretary at DHS,” the DHS said in a statement.
Varvaro, a distinguished graduate of St. John’s University’s Homeland Security program, says the complaint is nothing more than a jilted ex-boyfriend who is trying to get back at her.
The ex – a decades-older, divorced business executive known only as Robert B. – claimed he poured thousands into their relationship until realizing he was little more than a bankroll to Varvaro.
“I did not want a sugar daddy/prostitution relationship, after spending $30,000-$40,000 for vacations, Cartier jewelry, expensive handbags, and various shopping trips,” Robert B. wrote in his DHS complained, according to the Daily Mail.
“She also told me directly that the $40,000 worth of jewelry on her wrists and ears are all trophies from her sugar daddies,” Robert B. added. “I believe that she’s under financial stress and that her actions pose a security risk.”
“Everywhere we went, she’d always order the most expensive things on the menu, like the Wagyu premier cut of Japanese beef,” he told the Mail, griping that he dropped $1,400 on their first date and got nothing more than a kiss.
Julia Varvaro probably wasn’t in for love, she was all about the money and five-star enjoyment.
“She was like, ‘This is nice, but it’s not the Ritz,’” Robert B. said, explaining he caved and got them a room at the upgraded hotel to the tune of $1,700 more per night.
“I’m not used to having to ask like this for a simple card or help with my rent especially being furloughed,” she texted Robert, according to the Mail. “Any past relationship would’ve jumped up and cared for me, which is what I like.”
“I was like: ‘You know that’s not happening because I see how you like to shop,’” he said. “That got me the cold shoulder.”
Varvaro, however has trashed these wild allegations by her jilted ‘sugar daddy.’
“This is just a mad ex-boyfriend putting crap together. And it’s just really weird,” she told the Mail.
“I thought it was a great relationship until we just didn’t work, and that was it,” she added.
“If we made a story about every failed short relationship in DC, this town would implode.”
At the end of the day, this story is a wild reminder: romance can be unpredictable, expensive, and occasionally headline-worthy for all the wrong reasons.
And if you’re about to spend $40K on someone you’ve known for three months, maybe sleep on it first. Just a suggestion.
