By Alice Giddings

Copyright metro

We asked parents of OnlyFans creators what they think of their daughters’ work (Picture: Metro/Getty)

‘You could have everything you want, Lily, if you gave it all up now.’

Those were the words of Lily Phillips’ parents, in a recent documentary about the OnlyFans star, famed for her extreme sex stunts.

The exploits of Lily Phillips, and fellow porn star Bonnie Blue, continue to dominate headlines and comment sections alike, as the nation debates exactly how far is too far when it comes to sex work.

And while Lily has insisted she finds her work empowering, it’s clear there have been knock-on effects for her family.

Despite the fact that many men and women actively choose to go into the world of adult entertainment, their parents don’t.

So, what do the mothers and fathers of sex workers really think about their child’s choices?

Lily’s parents were emotional when discussing their daughter on a recent documentary with Stacey Dooley (Picture: Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over)

‘Did I do something wrong?’

For Carol, 61, a massage therapist from Virginia, USA, being the mother of a sex worker has left her with complicated feelings.

Her daughter, Molly Little, told her she was entering the adult industry at just 18 years old.

Molly began pole dancing and stripping before moving into porn and now, at 22, runs a successful OnlyFans where she earns six figures a month — her USP is her love of older men. For her mother, it’s not been the easiest pill to swallow.

‘I don’t think any parent would want this for their child — it’s not a choice parents even think of,’ Carol tells Metro. ‘I thought she’d be a scientist or a doctor — she’s really, really smart. I can want what I want for her, but it’s not up to me.’

Molly (left) didn’t want Carol’s (right) permission to be a sex worker, but she didn’t want to keep it a secret (Picture: Molly Little)

As we talk, Carol mulls over each answer carefully, worried she’ll say the wrong thing, but is also unable to hide her sadness over her daughter’s chosen path.

‘She wasn’t looking for my approval when she told me, she just wanted to be honest,’ Carol explains. ‘At first, I was in shock, I didn’t know what to say.’

Carol says she immediately questioned her parenting. ‘I judged myself thinking, “did I do something wrong?”,’ she adds.

Over time, and as she learns more about the industry, Carol’s views have changed a little.

‘I’d built up a very different image of people in the industry. But when I met other sex workers, I realised they’re just good normal people — they aren’t desperate.’

However, she doesn’t want to know what her daughter gets up to on camera for paying fans, instead, what’s important to her is supporting her daughter any way she can, regardless of her career.

Carol (pictured) has never been 100% on board with her daughter’s career choice, but she believes it’s her job to support her (Picture: Molly Little)

‘I know a lot of her friends have families who don’t approve and don’t speak to them, but I strongly feel that Molly is my daughter and God gave her to me, so I need to support her as best I can,’ she says.

‘There’s so much shame in the industry, but these sex workers need love and understanding — I’ve learned to look at it differently, and I think people need to be less judgey.’

But just because Carol has come to accept her daughter’s job, it doesn’t mean other family members have.

‘The family knows, and a lot of them won’t speak to Molly anymore; others in the family do talk to her but don’t agree with her line of work,’ she sighs. ‘It’s sad because they’re the ones missing out — she’s a beautiful person.

‘I understand it a little, it’s something I still deal with too, but what she’s doing is just her job, it’s not her.’

‘As long as she doesn’t go hardcore, we don’t mind’

For parents Jen and Adam, 48, whose daughter Lily Jade, 23, has been doing OnlyFans for just under a year, they’re less apologetic.

Lily, from Melbourne, Australia, made £73,000 in her first six months when she was selling provocative pictures, and she now performs solo sex acts on the site, taking requests behind her paywall. But her parents weren’t surprised when she embarked on this career.

Lily (middle) with her parents, Jen and Adam (Picture: Lily Jade)

‘Lily always had in her mind she was going to be famous, no matter the avenue she went down to get there,’ her mother, Jen, tells Metro. ‘We always knew she’d do something in modelling or TV — anything on the internet to make herself known.

‘If that’s what she wants to do, she’s happy to do it, and she’s self-sufficient, we’re very supportive.’

I ask Lily to explain what she does in front of her parents, but the pause is palpable. You could hear a pin drop, before her father says: ‘I might sit this one out.’

They want to remain oblivious to the ins and outs of their daughter’s work, something Adam says is ‘Lily’s business’, not his. However, there are certain lines he’d rather she didn’t cross.

Jen is very supportive of her daughter Lily (Picture: Lily Jade)

‘As long as she’s not going down the Bonnie Blue avenue — that’s disgusting,’ he says. ‘I wouldn’t want Lily to go into hardcore porn, but OnlyFans is a subscription, and she doesn’t have to meet people.’

Ultimately, though, he adds: ‘I don’t know how we’re meant to have problems with her work, because then we just become unsupportive, horrible parents.’

That’s not to say they’re open with everyone about what Lily does. ‘The grandparents don’t know,’ Jen admits. ‘Some cousins do and they’re supportive, but my parents are in their 80s as are Adam’s, so they just know she’s on TV and does some modelling.’

Adam and Jen are proud of their daughter being independent and financially stable (Picture: Lily Jade)

Adam isn’t concerned for Lily’s safety because he sees her work as ‘digital prostitution’, and believes that his daughter not meeting men in real life negates any issues around stalking or worse.

Jen and Adam also make it abundantly clear they don’t take a penny from Lily. ‘We’ve got our own money. That’s her money,’ Adam says. ‘I hope that she invests in property, but I don’t ask her how much she earns.’

Overall, it’s clear they’re genuinely proud of their daughter, something that makes Lily emotional when the two of us talk alone.

Lily is very grateful that her parents chose to support her so much (Picture: Lily Jade)

‘A lot of my friends in the industry have parents that won’t talk to them, so it’s nice to have that,’ Lily says, as she dabs a tear from her eye.

Later, Adam’s sums up his feelings in a nutshell: ‘It’s their life, and you’re only showing your own insecurities when you’re worried about what someone else is doing,’ he says defiantly.

‘My daughter is running her own life, and she’s doing a bl**dy good job at it too.’