I turned to OnlyFans as a cash-strapped mum like EastEnders’ Stacey Slater – it ruined my life in ways I never imagined
LIKE Stacey Slater in EastEnders, mum Arabella Francis was so deep in debt that she turned to adult site OnlyFans.
But the bodybuilder, 29, from Leeds, West Yorks, warns that it is a mistake to offer your body up to strangers online if you are desperate for money.
In the BBC soap‘s controversial new storyline, Stacey, who is played by Lacey Turner, needs to pay off a debt to a loan shark and turns to the explicit subscription site as a way to solve her money problems.
But mum-of-one Arabella says in reality her relationship with subscribers quickly deteriorated as they tried to date her, asked her to roll around in mud and perform sex acts too graphic to be published.
The price of being on the adult site was also too much, with someone even taking screenshots of Arabella before sending them to friends and family.
Relatives stopped speaking to the model, one man ditched her when he discovered she was on OnlyFans and the constant trolling left her anxious and lacking in self worth.
Arabella says: “When I saw Stacey Slater on EastEnders desperate for cash and unable to pay bills setting up an OnlyFans page I knew exactly how she felt.
“I wanted to scream, don’t do it, you’re too desperate.”
Debt crisis
It was the weight of a £15,000 student debt that persuaded Arabella to sign up for OnlyFans.
Arabella, who is studying law, says: “Debt is scary, it makes you do scary things.”
She was determined not to reveal too much of her body, but it required strong willpower not to give in to the intense pressure.
Arabella continues: “I started posing nude but tastefully.
“You don’t want to show fans everything.
You don’t want to show fans everything
Arabella Francis
“You can show off your body in a bikini or nude with strategically placed props.
“Always have boundaries to what you will do.”
Weird requests
On the British-based OnlyFans, followers make requests to content providers and Arabella says they can range from amusing to sinister.
She says: “Followers cracked me up wanting to put my foot into jelly or wear a bikini, roll around in mud and send it to them.”
“But some fans want you to perform sex acts and these acts are not even fit to print. Many fans want you to degrade yourself.
“Some fans left because I wasn’t risqué enough. If you are truly desperate that can be the thing that breaks you.”
OnlyFans is not a part time job, with Arabella putting in eight hours a day to make it work.
It took her almost eight months to build up enough of a fan base to make the effort financially viable.
The company, which is valued at an estimated billion dollars, takes 20 per cent of fee-paying interactions.
Set boundaries
Surprisingly, Arabella found that being strict with her fans increased her viewing numbers.
She says: “I discovered saying ‘no’ made them actually start following me.
“Stacey needs to ensure they treat her with respect. You are not a plaything they can discard.”
Any interaction between fans and stars is supposed to remain strictly digital. But that doesn’t stop some men trying to meet up in real life.
Fans can become obsessive and want to date you
Arabella Francis
She warns: “Fans can become obsessive and want to date you, or meet you. You can’t cross that boundary.”
Arabella left the site when she had a baby daughter two years ago, but returned because of the cost of living crisis, explaining that “money was incredibly tight.”
Arabella refused to monetise being a new mum, but that didn’t stop fans making warped requests.
She reveals: “Some fans wanted to buy breast milk. I said no and that caused problems for them.”
Leaked photos
Being on OnlyFans did allow Arabella to clear her debts, but the cost to her personal life was very high.
She reveals: “I kept my OnlyFans page private from family and friends.
“One friend signed up to follow me under a fake profile and got pictures and leaked pictures to other friends and family members.
“Another friend told me I was selling myself and refused to speak to me.
“Men claim they’d love to date someone from OnlyFans but one fella, when I told him I had an OnlyFans page, immediately dumped me.”
Arabella also encountered an underbelly of cruel people, determined to undermine the confidence of OnlyFans models.
Arabella says: “One fan told me I was showing too much fat when I was all muscle.
“Others said I wasn’t sexy enough and that makes you feel inadequate.”
Soap fans have already gone online to tell Stacey not to go any further with her OnlyFans career – and Arabella thinks they are right.
She concludes: “Don’t do it Stacey. You need to have clear goals, boundaries and limits.”