Samantha Matthews, 31, is a mother of two and a lifestyle influencer from Missouri, who was recently pregnant for the third time. But it is not these credentials or her bulging belly that has attracted attention. Matthews was pregnant with a foetus she was holding for a couple from Manhattan, whom she had never met in person, but who had slid into her DMs on Instagram.

As a gestational surrogate—someone who lends their womb (and not their eggs) for the pregnancy, Matthews was reportedly paid approximately $40,000 (over Rs 31 lakh). The child was born on July 27.