My ex and I looked into monetizing the porn we were shooting anyway for FetLife (it was 2010, so while we had videos, we never uploaded them). The options at the time were extortionate, and she firmly refused to hand over 40% of proceeds. We tried Clips4Sale and a couple of other sites, but no dice.

Now, she was being a bit unrealistic, as she'd only accept a 0% cut by the hosting company, so we kept it to just having fun and posting on occasion. OnlyFans was not yet a thing, and payment processors were being assholes about adult content, so starting our own site was also an impossibility.

The fact that it's now an option has created opportunities for paid adult content that wasn't around 15 years ago, and while OF spam in certain corners of the internet is infuriating, it's a valid way to make money without harm.

This said, as things have evolved, even if she'd come around to 20% being acceptable, there's no way in hell she'd do the whole thing of "chatting" with "fans," which seems to be how many porn actors actually make their money. Having been on the edge of that industry, I've heard some horror stories, and you can't really maximize your income without working 16-hour days and hiring people to chat on your behalf.

It's seriously far more work than a regular job. And it drains the joy, as any hobby that turns into work.