It was a cold winter day a year into the pandemic, and I was scrolling the news on the internet when an article caught my eye. In it, a pretty mom revealed she was making over six figures a month posting racy photos on OnlyFans, an online subscription-based site that features adult content creators.
I was 53 and single after the pandemic had thrown cold water on a promising long-distance relationship. I was raising my preteen son, taking care of my aging mother and working a remarkably boring office job that offered no benefits or chance for career advancement, but it was close to home and had day shift hours, which was best for my son.
I chose to become a solo mother at age 42 using fertility treatments after I was dumped by my fiancé for a woman 10 years younger than me. Becoming a mother was important to me, and I made choices that prioritized my son. My office job was a significant step down from the career I had in my 20s and 30s as a consumer product sales manager, but I had been required to travel frequently for that job, and that wouldn’t allow me to be the kind of parent I wanted to be. We make choices and then we live with them.
However, when I saw that article, I had what people refer to as an “aha” moment. I felt what I can only call electrical surges pulsing through me as I read. I kept thinking there had to be a catch — I could take racy photos from the safety and comfort of my own home, control my schedule and make more money than I was making from my 40-plus-hour-a-week job? How could that be possible?
I read several other articles about mom OnlyFans models, and the women were all attractive, but they weren’t supermodels. I wasn’t in great shape but felt I could clean up well enough that maybe, just maybe, this could be my chance to make some additional income. I will never forget thinking, If I can make one-tenth of what these women make, it will be life-changing.
For the next month, I worked during the day, did my “mom duties” when I got home and then went into full-on OnlyFans research mode once my son went to bed. Most nights, I fell asleep at 2 a.m. after hours of reading and strategizing.
My first hurdle was that social media wasn’t my thing ― at all. I had a small Instagram for my dog and a Facebook page for close friends and family. My identity was Mom ― that’s it. I didn’t know how to market myself or what kind of posts I should be sharing to get viewers, and I especially didn’t have any experience in adult content.
I had done some glamour modeling in my 20s, but the only reason in the past 30 years I’d ever dressed up was to go on a date or take photos for dating apps. My wardrobe was corporate casual, or what I refer to as “everyday mom.” I hadn’t even worn a two-piece swimsuit in 12 years!
I also wasn’t convinced that men would find me attractive. My mother had told me that “when a woman is past 45, she becomes invisible to men.” When I went on dating apps and saw that most men around my age were looking for women much younger than me, I accepted that she was right. I felt resigned to the fact that my days of being desirable were over.
I also believed that after stepping away from my career to raise my son, I would always be working low-paying jobs that fit my schedule, and my only hope was that I could stay healthy enough to keep working ― maybe even work multiple jobs if necessary ― so I would never be a burden on my son.
The more I scoured the internet for information and “spicy” content creators, the more and more “average”-looking, real women I saw ― and they were successful! They weren’t perfect, but men were loving their imperfections! For so many years, I had been told by the media that the ideal woman was 25 years old, fit, trim and “perky,” and that the further you got from that ideal, the less desirable you were. But I found women celebrating their unconventional curves, lumps, dimples ― you name it ― and all shapes and sizes were being shown and admired! I even saw some women my age and older. It was a revelation! I thought, Maybe I can do this. Maybe this is my chance to change everything.
After months of obsessively researching, planning and strategizing how to not only create a page that would please subscribers but also how to find them in the first place, I officially launched my OnlyFans page and a less-racy sister account on Instagram. However, I didn’t show my face. I will never know how I got views with just my “mom bod,” but I did, and after four days, I had my first two OnlyFans subscribers. One was 28 years old and the other was 29. I had assumed that the only subscribers I would get would be my age or older, but boy, was I wrong! The one thing all my research hadn’t uncovered became the key ingredient to my success: Many men in their 20s and 30s fantasize about being with an older woman!
Today, I have had fans from 19 to 79, but my core demographic fan is men 24 to 40. I was honestly shocked that men in their late 20s would find me attractive. I asked so many questions to those two first subscribers, and they were happy to give me the feedback that allowed me to grow and create my brand. After two weeks, I showed those two subscribers my face and asked if they thought it would help bring in new subscribers. They were enthusiastic that it definitely would. This gave me the confidence to show my face ― an incredible leap of faith and a huge risk, as I knew my conservative boss would fire me on the spot if she found out what I was doing.
My Instagram follower count exploded, and by the end of April 2021, I had 10,000 followers and 65 subscribers to my OnlyFans account. With the subscriptions and by fulfilling custom requests (subscribers can inquire about specific content they want from me for an additional fee), I made just under $2,000 in my first month. My no-benefits, full-time job paid me $2,700 a month before taxes. I was brand new on social media and OnlyFans, working constantly and learning all that I could, but I could do the math, and it was clear I was on to something. In May of 2021, I made $5,000 on OnlyFans, and I knew I was leaving money on the table because there weren’t enough hours in the day to create content and interact with my fans.
“The more I scoured the internet for information and ‘spicy’ content creators, the more and more ‘average’-looking, real women I saw ― and they were successful! They weren’t perfect, but men were loving their imperfections!”