In the last five years, platforms like OnlyFans have gone from fringe to mainstream, from users making some side cash to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. As these platforms have risen in popularity, however, so has the debate as to whether or not using them constitutes cheating in a relationship. A recent incident in Perth, Australia, where a young woman dumped her boyfriend when she found out he was subscribed to various women’s accounts on OnlyFans, has brought this debate to the forefront. The debate as to whether being subscribed to people’s OnlyFans accounts counts as a form of infidelity has divided opinions and raised questions about trust, boundaries, and modern relationships.
Is OnlyFans Cheating?
The Australian woman who has launched the question, OnlyFans cheating into the spotlight, is 20-year-old Maddi Miller – an OF content creator herself. She shared with News.com.au that she broke up with her boyfriend when she woke up one night to find him scrolling through naked pictures of other women on the site while lying next to her. Some of the women were people that she knew personally. Upon discovering her partner’s activity on the platform, she ended the relationship, expressing how she felt betrayed.
“Trust is so important, which is why I had to end it with an ex after I caught him looking at naked photos of other women while in bed with me,” she told news.com.au. “If my ex had maybe asked to watch some content together, or he had expressed that he was curious, then we could have had a conversation about it. But the fact that he was deliberately looking at porn created by people I knew was not okay. “It was a huge breach of my trust. I wouldn’t be asking his mates for nudes. It’s the same thing. It’s betrayal.”
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A Breach of Trust
She went on to explain that when she originally confronted him about it, he tried to deny it. He told her that his friend had sent him the link and that he had just opened it. Upon further investigation, however, Miller explained how she found his subscriptions and the time stamps, so he was, in fact, lying to her. Some people have commented that this is a pot calling the kettle black situation, meaning that as a creator on the platform, she has no say on how her partner engages with it. Miller says, however, that it is not the same – it is her job.
“Like this circumstance, they think it’s okay to push boundaries that we’ve set in place. Like it’s owed to them because I do OnlyFans, but it’s a job for me. It doesn’t mean he can go and do whatever he wants.” She says.
The Australian Perspective
The debate that her story created inspired News.com.au to conduct a survey to better understand public opinion. They found that a significant number of Australians do believe that subscribing to explicit content on platforms like OnlyFans can be perceived as a form of cheating. Among the respondents, 50% said it is “definitely” a form of cheating, while 42% believed it depended on what kinds of interactions their partner was having with creators on the platform. The remaining 8% of respondents found using the platform as a normal part of a relationship.
Gender Divide
One interesting fact that the survey found is that there is a significant difference in opinion between men and women. The majority of women who took the survey, 61.3%, considered subscribing to creators on OnlyFans to definitely be cheating. Only 46.1% of the men surveyed, however, shared the same sentiment. This is further interesting when you consider the statistic that shows 79% of the user traffic on OnlyFans is from men, with the remaining 21% being women. Of course, the majority of the creators on the platform are also women.
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Industry Insights
While many people do consider using the site cheating, there are still plenty of those who don’t see in such stark black and white contrast. Lucy Banks, a sex worker and owner of Million Billion Media, emphasized the evolving landscape of relationships in the digital era. She said that what constitutes cheating in this instance is highly dependent on the relationship. She pointed out factors such as transparency, emotional intelligence, and communication, which play crucial roles in defining boundaries within relationships. The issue isn’t the platform itself, but rather the agreements that the couple has around it and its use, and from there whether or not those boundaries have been crossed or not.
“Is it cheating if your partner subscribes to someone on OnlyFans? It really depends on the relationship.” Banks explains. “As someone who not only makes content but also works with other women in the industry, the pattern I see consistently, regardless of age, gender, or content type, is that the strongest relationships are the ones built on trust, open dialogue, and mutual respect.”
Public Opinions
When interviewed on the streets, everyday Australians exhibited varying opinions on whether subscribing to OnlyFans accounts constituted cheating. Some believed it depended on the type of content and the level of interaction, while others viewed it as a breach of trust or crossing a line in a relationship. Again, what the debate really seemed to boil down to is communication, trust, and boundaries. Opinions of adult content platforms and websites are now something that need to be talked about between two people in a relationship. Both parties need to understand what their partner’s opinions are on these kinds of platforms, and they need to reach an agreement as a couple as to what their boundaries are in the relationship. The real problem here doesn’t seem to be OnlyFans at all, but rather, the breaching of trust and lack of transparency surrounding them.
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Moral Boundaries
Another aspect of the debate revolves around the moral implications of consuming adult content through paid platforms like OnlyFans. Some argue that engaging with such content, especially in a relationship, may be morally questionable and could signify a lack of respect for one’s partner’s feelings and values. That being said, adult content is not new, but extremely easy, 24/7 access to it from a tiny computer that you carry with you in your pocket is. Some people view the consumption of any kind of adult content wrong. If this is the moral ground of someone, then their partner consuming that content will be seen not only as a breach of trust, but as perhaps a moral incongruency that makes them no longer compatible with each other. For others, however, they may see watching adult content as a more normal part of people’s sexuality. For many couples, consuming this content together is a form of intimacy itself and can help them get things going in the bedroom. While it may tear one couple apart, it may help another keep the spark alive.
Privacy and Autonomy
On the other hand, proponents of individual autonomy and privacy rights argue that subscribing to OnlyFans accounts falls under personal choices and freedom of expression. They assert that what one chooses to consume privately should not be equated with infidelity or betrayal, as long as it does not harm the primary relationship. Where things go wrong, they say, is if that person’s consumption habits of adult content begin to affect the relationship. Perhaps the consumer is spending too much time on adult content rather than engaging in intimacy with their actual partner, or perhaps they are making risky financial decisions that put the couple’s lifestyle in jeopardy. Finally, where many seem to draw a line is observing content versus engaging with it. It is one thing to watch adult content, it is another thing to send the actors messages telling them that you find them attractive or engaging with them in other ways. Again, this will depend on the agreement that each couple has between themselves.
The Bottom Line
The debate over being subscribed to people’s OnlyFans accounts continues to stir discussions about fidelity, boundaries, and the impact of digital platforms on modern relationships. As societal normals and perceptions evolve, it is important for people to communicate openly, set clear boundaries, and respect each other’s values. Only this way can healthy, trusting relationships be maintained.
So, is OnlyFans cheating? Well, that is entirely up to you and your partner to decide. After all, cheating is inherently something that is done in secret, where the offending party knows that if their partner were to find out, they’d be in trouble. Therefore, if your partner is aware of how you use an adult content platform, has described their boundaries surrounding it, and you follow and respect those boundaries? Well then, I suppose it isn’t. Talk to your partner about this debate and find where you stand before one of you makes any decisions that you may regret.
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