“I would never date an OnlyFans girl, they’re not special or valuable anymore” 

“OnlyFans girls are far more likely to be unfaithful”

“OnlyFans girls are completely unsuitable for marriage”

“I’d sleep with her but I’d never date her.” 

These are all real comments made by men on the online chat site ‘GirlsAskGuys’, when asked if they’d be in a serious relationship with someone who works on OnlyFans.

These were their responses, enforcing this idea of unfair stereotypes and stigmas against people who create content online. 

Online site OnlyFans has seen a considerable increase in popularity over the past few years, with many people using the platform to make money through creating videos of a sexual nature.

A 2018 survey found that 53% of sex workers in the UK had a university degree and another found that 40% entered the industry to pay for education or student loans, according to a Gitnux report. 

There are many reasons for people to enter the sex industry, but OnlyFans has become a top platform for this work with roughly 5.5 million visitors on the site daily and a reported annual revenue of $7.2 billion in 2024 according to Variety. 

These statistics show how lucrative this online work can be for people who become successful on the platform as Gitnux reported that OnlyFans paid out $2 billion dollars to creators in 2020.

Despite OnlyFans’ audience being 87% male according to PersuasionNation, these derogatory comments are still being made at the expense of these content creators, assuming that they’re undeserving or incapable of love. 

But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

We spoke to two couples in the lgbtq+ community on their experiences maintaining a relationship in the industry. 

Bridgett Barnes, a 28-year-old from Eugene, Oregon, is determined to prove these negative stereotypes wrong. Bridgett identifies as non-binary and began creating online in 2021 when they first became a single mother after coming out as a lesbian. Since then, Bridgett got married and now incorporates their wife, Mykayla, in their videos. 

They say: “We are fully monogamous and this is the healthiest relationship I’ve been in. For every video I post, there is way more that we do offline to stay connected. Communication and true quality time are top priorities every day. 

“I feel empowered to do the job I do. On my page, our goal is to share authentic lesbian intimacy in a real lesbian couple. Not just a fantasy. Not just for money. But genuinely because I feel passionate about healthy intimacy and feeling sexy and desirable no matter who you are or what you look like.”

Bridgett shared that Mykayla has always been supportive of their career but they actively did not want to push them into sex work. It was only after a year of Mykayla offering, that Bridgett decided to accept and they began to work together.

Bridgett also expressed how it is important to them that their son is not affected by their line of work at all. He is aware of Bridgett’s second job as a personal trainer but they stressed that his wants and needs are met in a safe and comfortable home and they believe that as a sex worker, they should keep their work and child separate. This shows that it is also possible to maintain an extremely healthy and happy dynamic when parenting as someone in the industry, without the job affecting their family relationships. 

“It has made my personal experience with life 10 times better as I am not constantly stressed working multiple jobs to barely pay the bills. This gives me time with my wife, with friends, the freedom to explore hobbies and travel. The basics of life that everyone deserves.” 

This positive perspective of becoming a creator shows that the work has actually helped to develop Bridgett’s personal bonds, making both her romantic and platonic relationships healthier and therefore debunking the stigma around being unable to maintain relationships as a creator.

“Billionaires exploit thousands of people to live in luxury. I “exploit” myself just to live a comfy normal life. And that’s a pro to me,” says Bridgett, in regard to negative comments around their career choice. 

According to a Gitnux report on 2025 statistics of sex work, 40% of sex-workers identified as being in a committed relationship

Natassia Miller is a certified sexologist from New York, who works for DatingAdvice.com.

She says: “Studies repeatedly show that sex workers face high levels of judgment and internalized shame, which can spill into their closest relationships and make trust and openness more fragile than they need to be.”

“People in sex industries can and do have deeply loving, stable relationships. What usually makes this harder is not the work itself, but stigma, secrecy, and other people’s projections about what that work means.”

Another couple who started a career on OnlyFans and have successfully maintained a healthy relationship as creators are Sasha and Alessia, which are stage names as they choose to remain anonymous in their work. Together they’re known as the ‘JellyFilledGirls’ and they’ve been together for ten years and married for two.

They say: “Thankfully our friends and family have been fully supportive of our careers. Naturally we shared the news with our friends first and eventually told our families when we felt the time was right. 

“Now we share funny stories and experiences and let them know when we’ve hit notable milestones in our career. We’ve also made some new friends along the way, within the industry and otherwise, so it’s been great.”

Sasha and Alessia shared that they believe people can be so judgemental about their career choices due to societal norms, misogyny, patriarchy and overall ignorance about what goes into their work behind the scenes. 

They choose to focus on the love and support that they receive but revealed that it has been very important for them to set personal boundaries in order for this career choice to work for them. 

“We get to show queer intimacy in a much more positive way than is typically displayed in the industry,” they say. “We take pride in challenging the imagery and actually showing that it can be done in a tasteful way and still be lucrative.

“Our job has brought us even closer together. We ensure the work is done but we also know the relationship takes priority, because without the relationship there would be no work.

“Over the years we’ve seen each other evolve in many ways and intentionally created safe spaces to facilitate that. So things have been pretty rock solid for us.

“The key to maintaining healthy relationships is knowing yourself, establishing boundaries and trying your best to honor them all. That’s inclusive of platonic and professional relationships as well.”

Similarly to Bridgett and Mykayla, Sasha and Alessia create content together which seems to help their relationship more than hinder it and both of these couples show that it is more than possible to maintain a relationship within the sex industry as OnlyFans creators.

Dr Rosa Vince is a Research Fellow from the University of Leeds who specialises in feminist philosophy, philosophy of sex, and sexual ethics.

They say: “Sometimes when people do know that their loved ones are sex workers, they can treat the sex workers in their lives poorly as a result of negative beliefs about sex workers – so it is the stigma, rather than the work itself, that can create difficulties.”

“A misconception people might have about online workers in particular, is the mistaken belief

that you can see the whole person from their online content. In reality, online creators are creating entertainment, and it would be a mistake for someone to treat a worker’s online content as if it were a documentary about their life.

“One thing that reliably makes things worse for sex workers and their families is stigmatisation – if people didn’t see sex work as dirty and deviant then people wouldn’t bully and harass sex workers and their families.”

Through speaking to creators in the sex industry who work online, it is made clear that many stereotypes and stigmas don’t always portray a truthful image, as many creators have extremely fulfilling, healthy and supportive relationships with family, friends and partners. 

Bridgett, says: “I have been blessed with the people around me, they are accepting, they see sex work as real work, and they admire the way I bring an authentic and real angle into an otherwise unrealistic industry. My family is supportive of my choices, all my friends are supportive. It’s as if I told them I became a barista. It’s a job.”