‘Professional stay-at-home daughter’: Jobless 26-year-old’s lavish lifestyle sponging off parents

Roma Abdesselam makes videos of her shelling out thousands on luxury brands including Gucci, Dior and Prada. Photo / TikTok

This story was one of Herald Lifestyle’s most read in 2022

A professional “stay-at-home daughter” has revealed the jaw-dropping amount of her parents’ money she spends living as a kept child – including dropping over A$73,000 ($81,000) in one day at a department store.

Roma Abdesselam has amassed a huge following online documenting her lavish lifestyle, which includes attending daily pilates classes, going on shopping sprees and dining out at fancy restaurants.

Viral videos of the New York woman shelling out thousands of dollars on finery from Gucci, Dior, Chanel and Prada have amassed over 15 million views on TikTok.

But while people are interested in "how the other half live", not everyone is impressed with her indulgent lifestyle.

However Roma, who hasn't worked in the last two years, says her posts are meant to display her "self-deprecating, satirical" sense of humour.

"I've turned spending [my parents'] money as a stay-at-home daughter into a job, and that's been very, very fun for me," the 26-year-old told the New York Post.

"Every day I wake up in the morning, have breakfast, go to a [$665] workout class and go shopping with my girlfriends at Bergdorf's [a luxury department store].

"And that's my life being unemployed."

While her parents are clearly incredibly wealthy, Roma declined to reveal what her mother and father do for a living but mentioned they have cut her off financially in the past for overspending – but their cash bans never last long.

In a recently trending clip titled "Stay-at-home-daughter: What I spend in a day pt. 3," Roma gave her more than 629,000 digital followers a glimpse into her "manic" self-indulgence.

"I had to spend US$600 ($965) on new eyebrows," brags Roma at the top of her post. "After getting my eyebrows done I went to a bar to get drunk before I went shopping."

She then shared a series of receipts, showing off the loads of dough she spent on clothes, cosmetics and late-night snacks.

"I went to Cos Bar and picked up some of my favourite perfumes and skin care products," she bragged. "At Cos Bar, I spent US$1353.38 ($2175)."

Roma went on to blow US$2221 ($3570) on threads at Zimmerman, $2774.28 ($4460) on lingerie at Agent Provocateur and another $2264.81 ($3640) on high-end garb from Intermix.

Roma Abdesselam also goes on frequent weekends away and holidays at her parents' expense. Photo / TikTok

And before her day was done, she forked over $100 for a semi-private session with Sara Brooks pilates and treated herself to $13 in cookies and snack cakes from a bodega convenience store.

In total, Roma binged US$9326 ($15,000).

When the self-titled "stay-at-home daughter" isn't spending a small fortune on expensive handbags and dresses, she's charging costly pilates classes, facials, feasts at five-star restaurants and excursions to Saint Tropez and Mykonos to her parents' Amex Black cards.

Her lavish splurges often leave TikTok admirers salivating.

"[Do you] need a bestie girl??? Don't even want anything I just want to first hand witness this LMAOOO," commented an amazed audience member.

"Are your parents looking to adopt another daughter?" joked another.

But Roma insists she doesn't burn through over US$9000 ($14,500) every day – sometimes she spends way more.

"Some days I spend US$50,000 ($80,400)," she told the New York Post.

"I often get tricked by sales associates who'll say something like, 'Oh, this is the last Chanel Exotic [leather bag].' And I'm like, 'Oh my god, I have to have all these Exotics. I need them,'" she said.

But, to some social media viewers, her frivolous spending isn't a laughing matter.

"You could pay off one year of my student loans [with] that [amount] and it's not even funny," scoffed one onlooker.

"So [how] much do you spend helping your community and those in need," questioned another.

Roma Abdesselam enjoys eating out at fancy restaurants - and showing all her followers online. Photo / TikTok

But, her gullible impulse-buying aside, Roma – who's now making an income by posting advertisements and sponsored brand deals for beauty and fashion brands on TikTok – also donates money to education-based charities around the world.

"I'm very passionate about a school in Israel that teaches Palestinian and Israeli kids Arabic and Hebrew together," she said.

"I also do charity work with a school in Jamaica."

And when it comes to cyber critics who shame her for her lavish stay-at-home-daughter lifestyle, she says: "I don't really care what you think.

“At the end of the day, the [haters] are just very insecure, and would never say anything to my face.”