In the 50’s, women artists were literally expected to hide their partners. Dolly Parton famously got married against the wishes of her managers/producers, because she was a bad bitch who wasn’t going to be pushed around and denied her own life. She was a rarity at the time.
The number of OF models who have boyfriends who never appear on cam is high. This isn’t new for women in porn, this has pretty much how it has always operated. Men don’t like their fantasy being destroyed by pesky details like a boyfriend.
In Kpop its definitely still a thing, and it seems like the young male fans flip the fuck out when they find out one of the women they’re idolizing already has a boyfriend.
It’s capitalism, baby. It teaches young men that human relationships are a financial transaction and nothing more. They absolutely do think the money they spend means something, even if they aren’t an outright Incel.
Many of them will end up furious eventually, once it becomes clear they will never make it anywhere with this woman.