Zilda Williams, a former glamour model is now an accounts manager who has set up an OnlyFans page to pay the mortgage. Photo / Norrie Montgomery
A Kiwi model and former contestant on Australia’s The Bachelor has created an OnlyFans page to supplement her steep Auckland mortgage.
Zilda Williams told the Herald she feels lucky to be on a six-figure salary in her day-job, but it’s still been a struggle lately to pay the bills.
In her only interview, the 41-year-old accounts manager – who lives with her rescue dog Willow – said she bought her Auckland home “at the peak of the market” and her new side-hustle is intended to relieve that financial pressure.
“I am single and bought my home two years ago – which I’m proud of – but I paid top dollar. The company I work for is going through changes and many of us fear losing our jobs. I have a huge mortgage and the value of my house has gone down. I have no choice but to get a second job to keep my house which I’ve worked my butt off to buy,” Williams said.
OnlyFans is a British online subscription video service where viewers pay to see exclusive material from their favourite “content creators” – who then return 20% of their earnings to the platform. It originally rose to popularity through sex workers creating titillating content and pornography, but these days includes a wide variety of pages run by sports stars, yoga instructors, chefs, comedians, athletes, musicians, TV stars – and creative amateurs.
OnlyFans doesn’t release data breakdowns by country, but told the Herald in a statement that it hosts three million creator accounts and 220 million fan accounts. Creators receive 80% of all their earnings – and OnlyFans has paid out more than $15 billion in earnings since 2016.
Williams grew from humble beginnings in Mt Albert, raised by her mother who she says taught her to be resilient and independent.
She left Auckland Girls’ Grammar School at 16 and trained in hairdressing at the Cut Above Academy. Hairdressing wasn’t for Williams though, so she left for work in Sydney as a VIP hostess in a casino.
Throughout her 20s, Williams took on work as a glamour model for lad mags FHM, Ralph and ZOO alongside other work as a “promo girl” for global brands like Vodafone, Red Bull and Monster.
In 2018 she felt the call of home and left the sexy shoots for a nine-to-five corporate sales job in Auckland - where her mum still lives.
With an increase in redundancies and the cost-of-living soaring, Williams put her good looks and modelling experience to use and started an OnlyFans page last month with a view to pay her mortgage.
“It is a lucrative side-hustle” said Williams. “I’ve made more money than my normal job in half the time. I am confident chatting to people – that’s what I do in sales and marketing, I make people feel good. I am living a double-life: sales by day and sexy-selfies by night.”
Williams can make money from her page in three ways: in monthly instalments from subscribers, one-time tips and pay-per-view.
“I’ve done plenty of photoshoots in bikinis and lingerie before, so why not make some money from it?
“My page is beautiful, classy and sexy and leaves people coming back for more. Nude shots and sexually explicit shots are off-limits. It’s not porn. I am not in the sex industry. I believe people can choose to do what they want to do with their lives.”
Williams told the Herald her mother is happy with her “side-hustle” – as long as she sticks to the morals and boundaries she was raised with.
“I told my family what I am doing now is nothing different to what I did before. If I was going to do naked shots, I would’ve done that a long time ago when I was younger. I have strict boundaries. When I worked for Monster, I would be walking around the tracks in skimpy hot pants and bikini top front of thousands of people. I’m no stranger to attention and big crowds.”
After three weeks, Williams says her OnlyFans page has established a following of men aged from 18-70.
She won’t reveal how profitable her page is, but she says she has earned more money in days, than in a week at the office. One fan paid Williams a US$250 ($406) tip while he was chatting to her.
Williams concedes she is exhausted juggling two jobs but loves calling the shots. She directs her own photo shoots and has invested in camera gear, lights and lacy lingerie.
“I am in control of my images, styling, themes and locations. It can have a sporting vibe or I can be in a sexy bikini. It’s way more fun than I expected but I’m bloody tired. Back in the day photographers would tell you what to do and there were a few boundaries that were pushed. I love being my own boss, it’s empowering.”
Although Williams hasn’t modelled for a while, she says she feels sexier and is more comfortable in her own skin this time around. As an older woman Williams says she is embracing her flaws, including stretch marks and the odd wrinkle.
Williams says she was pressured into having breast implants when she was a 23-year-old model living between Sydney and the Gold Coast.
“On the Gold Coast everybody looks perfect, I didn’t really want implants, but it was so normalised, I regretted it massively years after. They hurt my back.”
Last year, she finally had them removed. “I feel healthier having them taken out” she said. “I wish I’d told my 23-year-old self ‘Don’t do it.’ It was the biggest relief and I feel sexier. Big boobs are out, I love mine – I am a natural DD.”
Williams says she will give up OnlyFans when she is 45 and financially secure.
She says she is not shy about disclosing her side-hustle to future employers but feels slightly awkward if colleagues and clients subscribe.
“I hope I won’t be discriminated against and [potential employers] will admire my determination and resilience in these tough times.
“I have nothing to be ashamed of and would happily disclose this at an interview. They’ll find out if they google me anyway. I’ve done lots of corporate jobs in racy outfits so this is no different.
“I’d make a joke of it with clients and colleagues and say, ‘Are you going to send me a big tip? That’s cheeky, you naughty devil what are you doing here?’ You have to be light-hearted and embrace it. I can’t be embarrassed, because I have put myself out there. There’s no point hiding away from it.”
Carolyne Meng-Yee is an Auckland- based investigative journalist. She worked for the Herald on Sunday in 2007-2011 and rejoined the Herald in 2016. She was previously a commissioner at TVNZ and an award-winning current affairs producer for 60 Minutes, 20/20 and Sunday.
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