Our families cut us off for doing OnlyFans… my dad said ‘only whores do this work’ but I’ve bought a £500k house
IT is the website that revolutionised the sex industry and brought overnight riches to those will-ing to bare all.
But OnlyFans stars warn the internet subscription service, which rakes in more than £4BILLION a year, is tearing apart families as those who take off their kit are in turn cast off by nearest and dearest.
The Sun on Sunday told earlier this month how ex-Emmerdale actress Sammy Winward has fallen out with her daughter, Mia, 19, over the teenager’s OnlyFans work.
Mia insists that by interacting with her fans on the site, she makes ten times more than she would in most other jobs she could aspire to.
But she adds: “I absolutely love my mum, I love all of my family but none of them speak to me now.”
Similarly, former Southampton footballer Matt Le Tissier previously saw red with his son Mitchell and daughter-in-law Alex — who have four children — over her OnlyFans modelling.
He admitted in 2022: “I do not want anything to do with them any more.”
But The Sun on Sunday can reveal these celebrities are far from the only ones to have been devastated by their loved ones selling, in their view, body and soul for online riches.
Former estate agent Courtney Sins, who made £1.1million on OnlyFans last year, admits she has paid the price of being cut off by her sister and parents.
Courtney, 41, from Northamptonshire, gave up her £50,000-a-year job to join the site, selling raunchy custom videos for up to £1,200 a go.
‘Pension money’
She says: “Some of my family didn’t like that I was having these online relationships with people and we haven’t spoken since.
“I might have regrets going forward, if I can’t heal the damage with my family. But I’ve got to do what makes me happy.
“I’d been on OnlyFans for a couple of years when I thought it was time to come clean to them. They were absolutely disgusted.
“I’ve tried speaking to my sister but she won’t have any-thing to do with me.
“Since I’ve been cut off, it’s been so upsetting. I do hope in time we can rebuild the bridges.
“It’s not like I’m a porn star having orgies with different people every week. I’m just having some fun and making money for my future and my pension. I’ve got my life to live.”
Courtney, whose Instagram tag is Courtney_blonde, expects to pay a £75,000 tax bill, adding: “I’m a limited company, I pay VAT and it’s all legit. People think I just sell myself online but I’m a serious businesswoman and this is a serious business.
Courtney Sins
NAME: Courtney Sins, 41, of Northamptonshire
INCOME: £1.1million
TAX: £75,000
SPLIT: No longer speaking to her sister and parents after giving up £50,000-a-year estate agent job to go on site.
COURTNEY SAYS: Since I’ve been cut off, it’s been so upsetting. But I’m making money I could only dream of.
I do hope in time we can rebuild the bridges. People think I just sell myself online but I’m a serious businesswoman and this is a serious business.
“I’m making money I could only dream of. I spend it on clothes and lingerie because it’s tax-deductible, and put money away in my pension. I’m working every day.”
Meanwhile, former Bella Italia assistant restaurant manager Elena Xonia also had a heart-breaking bust-up with family after changing careers to tout her wares on OnlyFans.
Romanian-born Elena, 31, of Luton, who earns up to £50,000 a month, started posting in March 2021 and her dad John, 56, no longer speaks to her.
Jobless John and her nurse mum Floria, 50, were devastated when a neighbour in Bacau, Romania told them what she was secretly doing. But Elena will not be put off, as her income has enabled her to buy a £500,000 house.
She says of OnlyFans: “I gave it a go to make a bit on the side while working in a restaurant.
“The first month I made £800, the second £2,500 and then I made £25,000 in six months, which was crazy.
“I decided to resign from the restaurant because there was no point in me working 40 hours a week for £1,800 when I could make that much.”
People think I just sell myself online but I’m a serious businesswoman and this is a serious business
Courtney
She now makes between £20,000 and £50,000 a month, adding: “I sell naked pictures in private but focus more on the relationship stuff where we just talk, and it’s nice.
Elena Xonia
NAME: Elena Xonia, 31, of Luton
INCOME: £345,000
TAX: £35,000 personal and £56,000 corporation (total £91,000)
SPLIT: No longer speaking to her father after a neighbour tipped him off that Elena had given up her management job at a Bella Italia restaurant to go on the site.
ELENA SAYS: My dad came on the phone and he was rude to me and doesn’t really talk to me now.
He says I disappointed him – and he might be right. But at the same time I just bought a £500,000 house.
“I have about 3,000 subscribers right now and work ten or 12 hours a day. One day I was calling my mum and she told me a neighbour had showed her photos from my Instagram. I said: ‘What’s the problem?’
My dad then came on the phone and was really rude to me and doesn’t really talk to me now.
He says I disappointed him — and he might be right but at the same time I just bought a half-million-pound house.
“He says: ‘Only whores do this type of work.’ It hurts, to be honest, but I’m 31 and old enough to look after myself.”
‘Selling our souls’
Elena, who has an Instagram tag elena_xonia_reels, insists she is a hard-working businesswoman.
She says: “People have the impression we are selling our souls, but if you want to make money you have to put in a lot of work.
“Last year I made £345,000 and I paid £35,000 for myself in personal tax and £56,000 in corporation tax.
“That’s after I have taken off my deductible costs including for my office, camera, lighting, outfits and microphones. I have lots of expen-ses, and a marketing company.
“I think I pay too much tax because it’s almost £100,000 for the year. But I love my job because I can work from anywhere — and the money is really good.”
IT’S A MYTH YOU ARE IN CONTROL
SALLY LAND, The Sun on Sunday’s Agony Aunt, says:
“It’s easy to see the attraction of becoming an OnlyFans star – unlike the rest of the sex industry it seems performers can control their work and image.
“Then there’s the money. Lots of women who chose this talk about empowerment, and anyone has the right to make choices. But no one who makes content can retain control. Once published, it’s susceptible to being screen-grabbed, recorded and posted to other sites.
“People paying for gratification can develop a sense of entitlement to you, and there are people who research private details of OnlyFans creators then publish them. Finally, I’m not sure losing your family is a worthwhile price to pay. “