• The Tea app was hit with a data breach that exposed 72,000 images, including selfies and IDs.
• The app said the breach involved a legacy data system with information from over two years ago.
• Tea, which lets women share anonymous dating advice and reviews, hit the top spot in the App Store.

Tea, the anonymous dating advice app for women that has the internet buzzing, is in hot water after a data breach.

Thousands of images of women, including selfies and photos of IDs that were used to verify their identity to join the app, were exposed because of the breach.

"We can confirm that at 6:44 AM PST on Friday, July 25th, Tea identified unauthorized access to one of our systems and immediately launched a full investigation to assess the scope and impact," a spokesperson for Tea told Business Insider in a statement.

"Preliminary findings indicate that the incident involved a legacy data storage system containing information from over two years ago," the spokesperson said.

The Tea app allows women to post a "man" (including his name, estimated age, location, and photos) with the option to add commentary. Users can also react to posts with green or red flags. Some users post photos of men asking for "tea" — gossip — about them. Others share posts seeking advice. The app does not allow screenshots.

The breach included about 72,000 images — about 13,000 of which were either selfies or photo identification "submitted during account verification," the company said. Another 59,000 images from within the app, as well as comments and direct messages, "were accessed without authorization."

404 Media, which found that the data had been posted to 4chan, first reported the breach on Friday morning,

Tea said it is working with "third-party cybersecurity experts" after the breach and does not believe "current or additional user data was affected."

Meanwhile, in the Tea app, an administrative account "TaraTeaAdmin" informed users about the breach in a post, which now has hundreds of comments on it.

The Tea app has seen an influx of new users and hit No. 1 on the US Apple App Store this week. On Friday, the company posted an Instagram story stating that more than 2 million new users have requested to join the app.

Privacy concerns had already been a topic of discussion amid Tea's virality — but mostly concerning the privacy of the men posted to the app. Now, those concerns are going both ways.

• I'm a digital nomad and met my partner in Argentina two years ago.
• We talked daily for the next eight months, and I decided to return to Argentina in 2024.
• We fell in love and are building a life together in an unconventional way, but it works for us.

When I started traveling full-time almost four years ago, I promised myself I'd go on dates, but I also knew that a long-term relationship was out of the question.

As a digital nomad and freelance writer, I get the unique opportunity to travel all over the world and write about my experiences. It's truly a dream job, but sacrifices and tradeoffs must always be made — like relationships.

How could I develop a meaningful connection if I only spend one or two months in a city at a time? Even if I did find someone I wanted to pursue a future with, I knew I was unwilling to change my lifestyle. Full-time travel is a dream that I can't give up.

All of that changed when I met my partner.

I found love unexpectedly in Argentina

I spent the first few months of 2023 in Argentina, one of my favorite countries in the world.

In February, I received a message on Grindr, which is notoriously known as a gay hookup app with a low success rate for relationships. Still, I hoped for something more, and I figured if I was on the app, there must also be a couple of other people like me out there.

Over the next few days, I started chatting with this person, who introduced himself as Lauti. He asked me out on a date, but unfortunately, I was leaving Buenos Aires to go to a different city in Argentina the following morning. I told him I'd be back in six weeks, and we decided to meet then.

The day after I flew back to Buenos Aires, we went on our first date, and something clicked. For the next three weeks, we embarked on a whirlwind romance and were virtually inseparable.

Then, I packed up and flew to Mexico, and even though we liked each other, I knew nothing could realistically come from it. We decided to take things one day at a time and not put a label on anything — just see what happened while I was traveling.

Our relationship blossomed as I continued to travel

As the days went on, the texting and phone calls continued. After Mexico, I flew to Europe for the summer, and even with five or six hour time differences, we found ourselves prioritizing each other and making space for video call dates, life updates, and deeper conversations. Despite the distance, things got more serious month after month, and I realized I was essentially in a long-distance relationship.

So, I planned my return to Argentina for January 2024 — eight months after I left. We finally put a label on what we both felt, and a few weeks later, he told me he loved me for the first time. We faced yet another goodbye in April when I left for Peru. Luckily, this period of long-distance was short since he came to visit a month later for his birthday in May.

Then, we went seven months without seeing each other while I was off exploring Europe, Asia, and Australia. He came to Colombia in December 2024 for our first holiday season together, which was every bit as magical as we hoped it would be. I returned to Argentina at the end of January this year, and we've lived together for the past four months.

Luckily, our time apart seems to be getting shorter each year. I'll leave Argentina in a few weeks, and we will be apart for just three months.

Navigating an unconventional relationship

Each long-distance period has its challenges. During the first stint, we were still getting to know each other, which made communication tricky. The second time, we were much better at communicating, but it was more challenging in its own way. I often don't know where I'll live in a few months' time, so it's impossible to know when we will be together again.

Even so, we're embracing the challenges of a long-distance relationship. How do we prioritize seeing each other? How do we balance two different cultures? How can we accomplish our own goals while still growing together? These questions don't have simple answers, and they are constantly evolving.

Some aspects of our relationship progressed quickly, while others have been harder to nurture due to my lifestyle. However, this has become our normal, making us appreciate our time together so much more. In our time apart, we still prioritize each other, but also spend time planning our future and growing individually.

I had an idea of what a relationship was supposed to be, and I thought that a nomadic lifestyle would be antithetical to that ideal. I've realized there isn't a perfect relationship, and I can accomplish two things simultaneously: a loving relationship and an unwavering desire to see every corner of the world. I don't have to sacrifice one to achieve the other, but I must be intentional with my time.

Over the years, scholars of the Dead Sea Scrolls have analyzed the ancient parchments with various methods: for example, X-rays, multispectral imaging, "virtual unfolding," and paleography, i.e., studying elements in their writing styles. The scrolls are believed to date back to between the third century BCE and the first century CE, but those dates rely largely on paleography, since only a handful of the scrolls have calendar dates written on them.

However, the traditional paleographic method is inherently subjective and based on a given scholar's experience. A team of scientists has combined radiocarbon dating from 24 scroll samples and machine-learning-based handwriting analysis to create their own AI program—dubbed Enoch. The objective was to achieve more accurate date estimates, according to a new paper published in the journal PLoS ONE. Among the findings: Many of the scrolls are older than previously thought.

As reported earlier, these ancient Hebrew texts—roughly 900 full and partial scrolls in all, stored in clay jars—were first discovered scattered in various caves near what was once the settlement of Qumran, just north of the Dead Sea, by Bedouin shepherds in 1946–1947. (Apparently, a shepherd threw a rock while searching for a lost member of his flock and accidentally shattered one of the clay jars, leading to the discovery.) Qumran was destroyed by the Romans, circa 73 CE, and historians believe the scrolls were hidden in the caves by a sect called the Essenes to protect them from being destroyed. The natural limestone and conditions within the caves helped preserve the scrolls for millennia.

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• Sofía Vergara, 52, knows what she wants in a partner.
• The "Griselda" star says dating someone with less money than her would be "a nightmare."
• Income disparity can impact romantic relationships, especially around power dynamics.

Sofía Vergara has a list of what she wants in a partner.

During an appearance on the May 14 episode of the "Today" show, the "Modern Family" actor reflected on her dating life and got candid about some of the traits she hopes her future partner will have.

"I want to say the basic stuff, like health and somebody that loves me," Vergara told hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Erin Andrews. "And somebody tall, handsome."

"I want somebody that has as much money as me or more, because if not, it's a nightmare. They end up resenting you. And I want somebody fun. I need fun in my life," Vergara added.

Vergara has been married twice. In July 2023, after seven years of marriage, Vergara and the actor Joe Manganiello announced they were divorcing. She was previously married to Joe Gonzalez.

A representative for Vergara did not respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider.

How wealth can affect romantic relationships

Two therapists and one wealth psychologist told BI they've heard similar sentiments echoed by many of their affluent clients.

Income disparity can impact romantic relationships, particularly around power dynamics.

Lami Ronit, a wealth psychologist who runs her own practice from both California and London, told BI she has noticed a difference in how men and women handle being the higher earners in a relationship.

"Women who are the higher earners often face a double standard; they're expected to succeed, but not so much that it threatens traditional gender roles. Men, on the other hand, are typically socialized to feel more comfortable being the financial provider," Ronit said.

When those roles are reversed, both partners can struggle, since the woman may feel she has to downplay her success while the man may wrestle with pride or feelings of inadequacy, she said.

The challenge persists even in some progressive circles where gender norms have been disrupted, Matt Lundquist, the founder and clinical director of Tribeca Therapy, a New York-based psychotherapy center, told BI.

"While it might seem that wealth invites ease — and in many ways it can and should — it also becomes a space where individuals' histories with money and gender expectations play out," he said.

For instance, it could be an issue when one person sees their contributions to the relationship as being more valuable than the other because of the amount of money they possess or earn, Dana McNeil, a relationship therapist and the founder of The Relationship Place, a San Diego-based practice, told BI.

"Many wealthy partners may perceive they are entitled to exert more control and say in the relationship about how money is spent," she said.

This can sometimes cause the less wealthy partner or the one more financially dependent to resent having to rely on their partner's permission to make purchases.

"This feeling of dependence can create a parent/child dynamic that feels like a loss of freedom and autonomy," McNeil said.

How couples can navigate financial disparity

While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, fairness and clarity are key, Ronit said.

"When appropriate, I often recommend that couples talk about proportional contributions rather than equal ones. For example, each person could contribute a percentage of their income toward shared expenses," she said.

The goal is to avoid feelings of imbalance or resentment, Ronit added.

When it comes to splitting bills, McNeil says she often suggests her clients have three checking accounts: a personal one for each partner and a joint account for bills and common expenses like going out to dinner or buying groceries.

To make expectations clear, it's important for couples to talk about money "sooner rather than later," Lundquist said.

"At some point, all couples need to confront the reality that a significant part of the partnership is economic and address both the material and symbolic aspects of this," he said.

It's also important for each partner to determine what they want and understand the trade-offs that may accompany that.

"And on this count, I'll give Sofía Vergara great credit — she clearly knows what she wants," Lundquist added.