When Paige VanZant revealed turning down $1M date offer from Middle Eastern prince and her husband reacted to a tricky question: "I'd be like a pimp"

Paige VanZant's question left her Husband, Austin Vanderford, searching for an answer. VanZant began her career as a professional MMA athlete before transitioning to modeling and building a substantial following on popular subscription content platforms.

During an episode of her A Kicka** Love Story podcast, which aired on Sept. 25, 2024, Vanzant revealed she turned down a substantial sum of money to go on a date with a member of a Middle Eastern royal family about seven years ago. VanZant explained:

"I got an offer from a prince [from a Middle Eastern country]... He offered me a million dollars to go on a date with him. At the time, we were only dating. So [Austin Vanderford] said, 'No.'"

VanZant then posed a tricky question to her husband Vanderford:

"Do you regret not letting me go on a date for a million dollars?"

Vanderford, who could not bring himself to answer directly, replied:

"I would have had to been like... See, I'm not like the typical bodyguard. I'm not like 6'-6"... But, gosh, thinking back, it's like, well, I don't want to say 'yes' because I'd be like a pimp or something, you know. But then you say it like that... You throw a million dollars out. It's like, well, yeah, that's a million dollar. So I'm going to plead the fifth [amendment] on."

Check out Paige VanZant and Austin Vanderford's comments below (18:35):

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Paige VanZant and Maryana Moroz discuss the financial impact of modeling

Many professional MMA fighters, such as Paige VanZant and her podcast guest Maryana Moroz, have turned to subscription content and modeling as alternative careers.

While this move has faced criticism, VanZant and Moroz explained their reasons for becoming OnlyF*ns models. VanZant explained in the aforementioned podcast episode:

"Having to take time off from fighting because of injuries, it's hard to have consistent income being a professional fighter and OnlyF*ns gives us that, like, consistent income where you don't have to be competing or fighting." [22:35]

Moroz shared her thoughts on the issue, saying:

"Many people ask me why I am not fighting. I just tell them that I am [in the middle of] recovery and I [will be] back soon. I try to do more on social media because it's a little bit hard when... I know that I will be fighting only next year. And I try to make more OnlyF*ns content and promote it." [22:50]

On the fighting front, VanZant is expected to return to competition in GFL in 2025. It will be her first competitive MMA appearance since her UFC 251 loss against Amanda Ribas in July 2020.