Ever Wondered How Your Parents Would React if You Joined OnlyFans? I Found Out.

I’ll be honest: I never expected to end up in the sex industry. I always loved math and wanted to work in finance—and I did for a bit. But for me, that meant a boring-as-hell desk job with a $28,000 starting salary, which I had to supplement with a side hustle at a restaurant. When the pandemic hit, I got laid off from the latter just after moving out of my parents’ house and in with my boyfriend. I was paying my half of the rent with what felt like next to no income, and suddenly, that jokey line we’ve all heard people say—“Ugh, maybe I should just quit and join OnlyFans”—made a whole lot of sense.

That is how, in the spring of 2020, Alexia Woods was born. She’s the alias I created when signing up for OnlyFans and similar sites like PocketStars and Fansly. As Alexia, I post nude pics and spicy videos, upload pay-per-view content, and chat with fans via the sites’ messaging tools. I also share PG-yet-suggestive content on Instagram and TikTok to bring people to my paid pages.

One thing I never do: IRL meetups or video calls. This is mostly for personal safety, but in the beginning, I had another reason. I wasn’t ready for anyone—especially my parents—to put a face to my fake name. (My boyfriend and sister were the only ones who knew, and by the way, they totally supported me.) That first year, I posted content that showed me only from the neck down.

Then I started doing research, really listening to my fans and seeing how other OnlyFans creators were doing things. And it became very clear that I could make so much more money…if I actually showed my face. Was I scared shitless at the prospect? Yeah, absolutely. Even though it’s one of the world’s oldest professions, sex work is just so stigmatized. I didn’t want to deal with anyone’s judgment. And I didn’t want my mom and stepdad to hear about it from someone other than me. I had heard horror stories of people’s families disowning them when they found out.

Still, I knew if I wanted this to be a real career, I had to try. I started with just one selfie. Posting it was nerve-racking for sure, but it also made me feel powerful to know people might pay through the nose to click on my photo. They did, and I started uploading more shots, while watching my earnings quadruple. In less than a year, I started making upward of $20,000 per month. Real money that could help me buy a house and pay for my future kids’ education. And I knew it was time.

I decided to tell my mom while we were in the car on our way to get wine for a friend’s baby shower we’d organized. Although we’ve always had a great relationship, I had no idea how she would react. Driving forced me to stay calm as I gripped the wheel, took a deep breath, and spoke my truth. It’s a very good thing she wasn’t the one driving because she could not hide her shock. She just sat there, processing, saying, “Oookay…oookay.” Eventually, she recovered from the surprise and told me she’d support my decision—she just wanted to make sure I was safe.

“I don’t wanna know any details,” my stepdad said when he found out shortly after. He wasn’t exactly happy about the news, but he did promise he would stand by me. To say I was relieved by both their responses is an understatement, and the resulting conversations have actually made our relationships stronger.

Telling my parents helped me feel more positive about my work too. I truly feel like I have control over my own time and body, and the financial stability is everything. Since quitting my day job last year to start building my Alexia Woods brand full-time, I’ve become one of the top 1 percent of earners on OnlyFans. (I typically have between 500 and 1,200 subscribers, and my base fee is $15 a month, so…you do the math.)

It’s kind of a given that you have to have thick skin to be in this business and show so much of yourself. I’m proud of my work, and I know my parents are too. These days, my mom is genuinely interested in hearing about the DMs I get, the outfits I order, and my continuous struggle to figure out how to pay taxes. She might not be able to brag about my career to her friends like she could if I were a doctor or a lawyer, but that’s okay. I’m at the top of my industry—and I’m making more than those doctors and lawyers are anyway.

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