A model’s clueless family think she’s earning money as a graphic designer – but she actually makes £1,000 a week by selling nude snaps online.
Aaliyah Mercedes graduated from Leeds Beckett University with a 2:2 and started job hunting shortly after.
She found work as an assistant graphic designer that paid £12,000-a-year and did a bit of modelling on the side.
This wasn’t enough income for the 23-year-old to get her own flat, so she moved back into her family home and had little money to spend on herself.
But her life changed when one of her modelling friends suggested she try out OnlyFans, a subscription site that allows you to put sexy content behind a paywall.
Aaliyah decided to quit her job and has been flogging racy photos and videos for almost two years – unbeknownst to her family.
Aaliyah said: “I’m not ruling out going back into graphic design in the future but I’m loving my job at the moment.
“I work the hours I want and am my own boss. It’s great money and I have so much freedom.
“Before lockdown I was going out all the time and buying designer clothes.
“I had to move home because I could afford my rent when I was a designer.
“Within a few months of doing OnlyFans and camming I was renting my own two-bed flat in Leeds city centre with cash to spare.”
Even though Aaliyah has shot to OnlyFans fame, and boasts 49,400 followers on Instagram, she’s managed to keep her risqué career a secret.
This is likely to be because her 58-year-old dad isn’t the most savvy with social media or the news.
The Yorkshire lass explained: “It’s not that he isn’t good at technology but I’m good at hiding things. He’s got Facebook and WhatsApp but he hasn’t got Instagram or anything else.
“And he doesn’t read the news. My grandparents read the local paper but we as a family don’t read the news.
“There’s no guarantee he won’t find out. Obviously it’s a risk and I don’t know 100% but he probably won’t find out.”
Aaliyah added: “I think I’ve managed to get away with it because I don’t really advertise it that much. It’s normally people who I speak to or who message me on camming sites.
“I’m surprised myself it’s got this far without them realising.
“My dad thinks I’m looking for work and doing some freelance graphic design. He even helps me out with money sometimes because he just thinks I don’t work much.
“He doesn’t charge me rent either because I’ve just moved back. He knows that I model and I had a tonne of work before the lockdown but that’s all dried up. He knows I’ll be getting back into that after quarantine and he doesn’t mind it.
“He thinks I do it for a good message - female empowerment and all that but he wouldn’t like anything nude or explicit.”
She continued: “My brother doesn’t know either. He’s a civil engineer and pretty clued up with technology. He watches the news but doesn’t read news on the websites.
“We’re not really a family that reads the paper - if we hear a story it mainly through social media or on the TV.
“I want to keep it secret for as long as possible.”
But if Aaliyah's family finds out?
She worries about the backlash but hopes they might “come together” after realising she’s an adult who is making her own decisions and earning good money.
Aaliyah added: “My dad wouldn’t be too pleased. It would be a huge divide in the family but he might react differently - it’s hard to say.
“My dad’s pretty old fashioned and he doesn’t agree with stuff like that.
"It’s similar with my brother - he wouldn’t want his sister doing anything like that.
“They wouldn’t fall out with me - they’d just be disappointed and think I could make my money in a better way.
“But I’m an adult and I can make my own decisions. It might be a huge argument at first but then we might come together.”
