Did A Woman Really Swap 20 iPhones from 20 Boyfriends For a House?

On Monday, American media picked up a Chinese news story that had actually been around for two weeks. A young Chinese woman recently found a solution to a problem many of us have. In order to afford a new house she made each of her 20 (yes, 20) boyfriends give her a new iPhone 7. She then sold the phones to a website that recycles used cellphones and got enough money for a down payment on a house. The woman, who is being called Xiaoli by local media, got a total of 120,000 yuan for the phones, which equals $17,700.

A Chinese woman bought a house selling the 20 iPhones her 20 boyfriends gave her. Shameful.
I built my house brick by Nokia brick.

— Gavin Eddings (@GavinEddings) November 1, 2016

The media attention has been so concentrated that the woman allegedly turned down requests for interviews. According to a local blog where the story first broke, Xiaoli comes from a family in Shenzen in the south of the country and was perhaps under pressure to buy her aging parents a house. Her mother is a housewife and her father is a migrant worker, and it is customary in China that children take care of their parents.

But most people are just stunned that she managed to juggle 20 boyfriends:

I’d get 19 more bfs to pay for grad school. LOL “20 boyfriends and 20 iPhones: How one Chinese woman bought a house” https://t.co/NxKDTpsAN6

— mpsm (@mahreeann) November 1, 2016

However, on Monday evening Buzzfeed made an attempt to debunk the story, which is questionable since it first appeared on a blog that is often used as an online gossip forum. The blogger who first posted the story claimed to have heard it from colleagues, but he posted screenshots of text messages that showed that he was the one spreading the rumor. There was also no personal information or photos of any “colleagues” or the woman in question. One theory is that the blogger works for the used phone company that he claimed bought the phones and tried a publicity stunt.

True or not, it would have been a pretty innovative way to get a new house.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.