One morning in 2022, 32-year-old Laura Whyte turned on the radio — and her interest was quickly piqued by a website she’d never heard of before.
Listening to a story of a woman who had tried out OnlyFans for herself, Laura was initially apprehensive. But money was tight, and the prospect of bolstering their family income could only be a good thing.
Three years on, and Laura’s side hustle is now funding the family Christmas — and this year, she’s got lavish plans for her two children.
A few years in, she’s earning up to £10,000 per month, and she’s spent half of this amount on 25 presents each for her two children, 14 and 10.
It’s also three times the amount that her husband, who works as a waste disposal collector, takes home — and it was he who encouraged her to try it out in the first place.
‘He said “why don’t you take a shot at it?” And I thought, “why not?” I didn’t expect anything of it, but now we have Christmas in a paid off house and lots of presents for the kids,’ Laura says, noting that they spend around £5,000 in total each Christmas just on presents.
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This year, they’ve ‘calmed down’ ever so slightly on the festive food front, as previously, they spent £600 on a lavish roast with all the trimmings.
Laura says she doesn’t feel guilty for spending so much money on her two children, who are aware of what her job involves, while her extended family are also supportive of her work.
She says: ‘My eldest is now 14 and knows I do OnlyFans. They don’t see it as a bad job, they just see it as money coming in. My 10-year-old daughter is too young to understand.
‘I don’t mind doing it. I like the security of it. I don’t have to worry about money anymore.
‘It also really builds up your confidence. You feel a lot happier in yourself.’
Laura uses social media to bolster her income, as whenever she goes viral on TikTok with a teaser of her content, the surge in views often generates her extra money.
She doesn’t only splurge out at Christmas, though, as she’s previously treated her son to a new virtual reality set, and her daughter a new bike.
‘The house is really decorated — we’ve spent hundreds on decorations over the last few years,’ she adds. ‘It’s fully kitted out.’
They invest in festive decorations, too, as Laura says that Christmas is ‘always lovely’ in their new home, which they’ve already managed to pay the mortgage off, to the tune of £200,000.
‘I no longer have to stress about money or whether we’ve given the kids enough presents,’ Laura says.
‘We don’t even have to save to get them presents, or think about how to afford all the other bits in Christmas, like the dinner.’
This year, Laura’s children have a combination of ‘little bits’ and one big, main present each — and they’ve both ‘wanted them for years.’
Looking back on her choice to shake up her life as a stay-at-home mum, she believes it was ‘one of the best decisions’ she’s ever made.
‘Life has been a lot less stressful since I’ve been on OnlyFans,’ she concludes, adding that, in the future, she’ll carry on with it as long as she’s making money.
‘I seem to be making more now. I love it. I can’t believe it’s doing so well.’
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