text: A new Reddit thread is offering some fascinating insights into the strange lives of men who have purchased mail-order brides. The discussion, which focuses on brides from Russia and the Philippines and has so far garnered more than 10,000 comments, asked users to spill the beans on what 'surprised' them the most when they started living with their spouses. '[She] spoke about sex the same way she spoke about housework,' wrote one, while another confessed: 'I could always tell she was uncomfortable. It seemed like she was just doing a job.' Ruse awakening: The Reddit thread asked users to spill the beans on what 'surprised' them the most when they started living with their spouses . One user described the process of 'ordering' a bride from Russia or the Philippines, where thousands of women are desperate to start a new life for themselves in Europe and the US. The fee to find a bride this way, according to this user, costs between $10,000 (£6,500) and $15,000 (£9,800), although others have said they paid as much as $50,000 (£32,700). 'Since a large amount of these foreign brides do not speak English, a person must hire a translator for phone and other forms of correspondence,' he explains. 'When a man becomes serious about a few women, he will want to purchase the girl’s address to send letters and gifts. 'Addresses usually will cost between $10 [£6.50] and $15 [£9.80}. A translator will also be needed for these letters which will normally add another $10  to $15 a letter.' Several people submitted stories not about themselves but people they know, and almost all of them noted that the men ordered their brides because they struggled socially. Booming: Russianbrides.com (pictured) now boasts an online community of more than one million hopefuls . Face value: Once a man has zeroed in on a woman he likes, he generally needs to hire a translator to communicate with her . 'My father brought my mum at an auction in Thailand a LONG time ago, it's pretty weird and he was kinda a creepy guy so basically what you'd expect,' one stated. 'I mean there's a reason these kinds of guys end up getting mail-ordered brides. Sometimes they are just super awkward, other times they are total d-bags,' another wrote. Several men, who had presumably since split with their mail-order brides, noted that the sexual chemistry was lacking. 'She would cook, clean, offer sex, whatever,' one wrote. 'Pretty much what you want from your wife. But the passion, emotion, warmth, everything that makes a marriage actually work was lacking. 'You could liken it to a gold digger but it was much worse. At least with a gold digger it isn’t painfully obvious, and you might actually convince yourself she likes some aspect of you.' Another found the opposite. 'The only thing I can think of is that she is very open about sexuality compared to most girls,' wrote one man, a 35-year-old who said he had cerebral palsy, and spent $22,000 [£14,395] to secure his bride. Just a chore: '[She] spoke about sex the same way she spoke about housework,' wrote one submitter . One user wrote: 'She seemed under the impression that a man was to be kept like a king and she was there for food and sex.' But then added: 'The biggest surprise was finding out that when his "wife" was sending money "back home to her family", it was to her husband (not "ex") and kids in the Philippines.' Amid all the stories about disappointed grooms, there were a few sad accounts regarding the brides. One user wrote of a friend's mail-order wife: '[She] had a ridiculous amount of humidifiers in the home so that it could be more like where she came from. All she did was to sit in a chair staring at the wall looking very depressed.' Another commented: 'There's way too many cases in which those girls looking for a better life end up in bad stories of domestic abuse and even murder when those guys start realizing that the girls are way out of their league and they start to meet new people and making friends.' Regardless of where you stand, the mail-order business is booming - Russianbrides.com now boasts an online community of more than one million hopefuls -  and shows no sign of slowing down.
target: A new Reddit thread asked users to submit their experiences .
  Many men were disappointed with their mail-order brides .
  Meeting a woman this way can cost up to $50,000 (£32,700) or more .