Someone suggested I try porn – 20 years on I’ve built the courage

Stepping into the bedroom, I felt a mixture of excitement and nervousness.

The whole day had been a bit of a whirlwind. I’d been flown to Scottsdale, Arizona, driven to an upmarket apartment, then fussed over with hair and make-up.

When my co-star arrived I quickly introduced myself but there was no time to get to know each other better or to build chemistry. We had to get into position.

Our producer yelled ‘Action!’ and, within minutes, the summer dress I’d been wearing was quickly removed – leaving my naked body exposed to cast an crew alike. Surprisingly though, it didn’t feel awkward. In fact, I felt empowered.

After years of feeling stuck, at 48 I finally felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be, and that was on the set of a pornographic film.

Admittedly, this wasn’t the life or career I had imagined for myself. If you’d asked me 20 years ago whether I would ever be a porn star, I would’ve said it was out of the question. Now it’s the job I adore.

Before all this, my life was pretty average: I worked a regular job teaching pilates and lived a conventional life. My salary was pretty poor, I did the school run every day, and like most parents (single or not) it felt virtually impossible to keep a clean home, cook, exercise, work out, take care of a child and have any kind of personal life.

So, the thought of working in the adult industry was the furthest thing from my mind.

While I wouldn’t say I was ‘vanilla’, I was definitely careful when it came to my extracurriculars in the bedroom. For example, when I was in my 20s I once had an acquaintance try to convince me to do a porn shoot, but I said no. 

It wasn’t because I was scared or ashamed of the idea – to be honest, it actually excited me – but it was just a different time then. 

Plus, I had a close relationship with my parents and so I was cautious about how my choices might affect them. 

Not that my parents would’ve disowned me, mind: my mum was a hippie, and nudity was completely normalised in our household so they’ve never been those kind of people. Still, I wanted to respect them.

As the years passed I slowly figured I’d outgrown the adult industry. I’d become a parent and honestly didn’t even consider it an option anymore –then the pandemic hit.

Between being unable to work – as my job required me to be face to face with people in a studio – and coming out of a nasty break-up, I was feeling a bit stuck.

I was stuck in the confines of motherhood, stuck financially and stuck in a life I didn’t feel was truly like the one I wanted. So I decided to change that.

I can’t exactly pinpoint when or why I fell down this rabbit hole, but after seeing lots of beautiful women online linking to OnlyFans in their bios, I saw no reason why I couldn’t make a living the same as these other women. My body, my choice.

While I knew it was going to be sexually explicit, the fact that it was a private platform appealed to me. So, in December 2021 I set up an OnlyFans account and taught myself the ropes by watching TikTok tutorials and seeing how other female creators operated.

At first, there was a part of me that felt nervous, especially about being older – I used to think my beauty would expire as I got older. But then I made $200 in my first week. 

I posted photos every day – mainly of me topless – and even as the world slowly reopened after lockdown, I balanced pilates and OnlyFans together.

By April 2022, I was making $5,000 a month from OnlyFans – enough to support myself. So I made it my full time gig, working when was best for me. 

I was enjoying it so much that I started to consider going into mainstream porn. That’s when a friend of mine suggested I talk to Dana Vaspoli, a well-known porn star around my age.

Not only was she really helpful at suggesting a few mainstream porn agencies for me to contact, she eventually introduced me to her agent who ended up taking me on – and that’s when things really took off.

The agency I joined specialises in more mature women, like Brandy Love and Stormy Daniels, so I fit right in, and they had me signed up for a film called ‘Hot Milfs F***’ – my first porn shoot in early October 2023.

The whole thing was a dream: the crew were professional, respectful, and made sure I felt comfortable, and my co-star and I certainly had a lot of fun. I didn’t want it to end.

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Clearly I impressed them as afterwards, I had lots of people saying, ‘Oh my God, you’re so easy to work with!’ and my work has only continued to grow from there.

To date, I’ve starred in around 15 adult films and been an extra in at least six more; I have done countless professional photo shoots and I make around $15,000 a month. 

While it’s great to have this kind of freedom and financial independence, what I love most is that I have a sense of self I never had before. 

I know that not everyone will understand or support my decision, but I’ve reached a point in my life where I couldn’t care less about other people’s opinions of me – I’m more empowered than ever and that’s all that matters.

While I haven’t told my 16-year-old son or my parents about my new career, I don’t think there’s going to be any real backlash. Besides, my son knows I have an OnlyFans page and is OK with it, and while my parents don’t know yet, I don’t think they would mind.

I’m sure they’d understand my choice and see that this career move has changed my life for the better.

I felt stuck for the longest time, but starting over as a porn star at 48 was transformational. I’m living proof that it’s never too late to reinvent yourself.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

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