trophy boyfriend

On the analogy of trophy wife.

trophy boyfriend (plural trophy boyfriends)

1. A boyfriend, usually young and attractive, regarded as a status symbol for his spouse, usually older and affluent.

   Coordinate terms: trophy girlfriend, trophy husband, trophy wife, trophy partner

   • 2006, Kate Hardy, chapter 2, in The Cinderella Project, Mills & Boon, page 20:

     ‘You’re the one who said you needed either a body double or a trophy boyfriend,’ Lisa pointed out. “There weren’t any body doubles available. So I got you the trophy.’

   • 2016, Melinda Di Lorenzo, chapter 18, in Worth the Risk, Harlequin, page 196:

     “I was twenty when I met him. He was a junior associate at the law firm where I worked as a paralegal, and I kind of thought of him as a reward for the years I spent raising Tamara. Smart. Handsome. Thoughtful. The perfect trophy boyfriend. My trophy boyfriend.”

   • 2018, Jo Nesbø, chapter 11, in The Thirst, Vintage Canada, page 123:

     After Roar moved out, Penelope had been convinced that he would see through the woman, realise she was a wrinkled puma who just wanted a young trophy boyfriend to play with for a while. But that hadn’t happened. On the contrary, they had just announced their engagement in the form of a hideous art installation made of candyfloss.

• social handbag
• arm candy
• armpiece

• “trophy boyfriend”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.