A woman who climbed the corporate ladder to a six-figure salary by 24 has revealed she wrote her parents a four-page letter telling them she was leaving it all behind to become a adult star.
Ophelia Fae, 25, spent years working her way up through sales and marketing roles before being laid off at 9pm on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in 2024.
While job-hunting on LinkedIn and having what she describes as an “existential” moment about her future, the LA fires hit – forcing her to stay with family while the air cleared and giving her a total life reset.
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It was during that period of silence that she started an Instagram to sell what she thought would be casual art modelling photos – but she was quickly spotted by the same people she had admired within the mainstream adult industry and invited to a high-profile networking event.
“I was doing everything right on paper,” said Ophelia, who has over 300,000 Instagram followers @ophelia.fae.
“I worked my way up to a six-figure salary, a leadership position, by age 24.
“But I was miserable the whole time.
“I felt like I was stifling something within me.”
Ophelia says she had always been fascinated by the adult industry – studying sexuality studies at college and following creators who made the jump from Tumblr to OnlyFans.
But she repressed that desire because it was not what was “conventionally supposed to be someone’s dream job.”
She said: “I cared about what was expected of me.
“But when I got reached out to about this networking opportunity, I knew that if I was going to do it, this would be the time.
“I would be walking a red carpet before I even shot a scene – as a adult star.
“So I got myself an agent. I started reaching out to girls to collaborate. And I went headfirst from there.”
Before taking the plunge, Ophelia sat down and wrote her parents a four-page letter explaining her decision – something she says no other creator she knows has done.
She said: “I knew that if I got on the phone with them, I would be nervous and that would make them more nervous.
“By writing it, I was able to say ‘I am informing you that I am doing this because I love you and respect you – but I’m not asking for your permission because I’m an autonomous adult woman.’
“I even said in the letter that I would rather be doing this than doing a normal job regardless of the money I’d be making.”
Her parents’ response was immediate and supportive.
“The one thing they wanted to confirm was that I wasn’t going to do straight-for-pay because they knew that wouldn’t be healthy for me.”
Ophelia, who is based in LA, has stayed true to being a lesbian in everything she does – both in her mainstream work and on OnlyFans.
She said: “As a woman who only works with other women, I’m basically a professional playdate, slumber party haver.
“There are women in this industry that I have real relationships with who I love.
“We’re genuinely fond of each other and would probably be doing this even if the phone wasn’t recording.”
As for the wildest moment in her career so far, Ophelia says it came during a custom video request at an Airbnb.
She said: “A fan wanted me and another girl scissoring on a table, knocking stuff off as if we were in the throes of passion.
“But the table had a big glass top sitting on a metal frame – and when we were rocking back and forth, the glass fell out from under us and we dropped to the ground.
“Luckily it didn’t break. But I thought ‘this is within the realm of what he asked for’ – so we just kept going from there.”
As for what she has treated herself to since making the switch, Ophelia says she is not a “big material girl” – but has discovered a new love for luxury lingerie.
She said: “I love my apartment by the beach. I love my friends. I am pretty low key.
“But I’ve really loved getting nicer lingerie – it’s been really fun to start playing dress up and expressing myself with that.”
Her advice to anyone considering following in her footsteps comes with a serious caveat.
She said: “If you take it seriously and it’s right for you, it can be life-changing beyond just the money.
“If it’s something you feel like you’re meant to do, it is a really beautiful thing.
“If it’s something that you don’t feel like you’re meant to do, it’s a really bad thing.
“I think it’s either the best job ever for a person to do, or the worst.
“If you do have other options, you need to take those options very seriously and recognise the privilege that comes with not having to do survival sex work.”
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