Sopranos actress Drea de Matteo has praised OnlyFans for “saving her life” after her refusal to get vaccinated against the COVID vaccine cost her acting gigs and left her with just $10 in her bank account.
While Drea, 52, was initially hesitant to join the adult subscription service last year, she has now revealed that her rapid uploads proved so lucrative that she paid off her mortgage debt in five minutes – and even started her own business.
The actress, who has been eating lots of carbs to get in shape for the cash injection, also revealed that not only did she almost lose her house, but she also ran out of money to support a parent suffering from dementia.
“It saved us,” she told exclusively. “OnlyFans saved my life 100 percent. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it really saved us.”
Sopranos actress Drea de Matteo has credited OnlyFans with saving her and her family
The Sopranos actress joined the platform in August when she had just $10 in her bank account and was on the verge of losing her home
With tears in her eyes, she continued: “Anyone who wants to judge me and belittle me is doing so.” I just hope you never find yourself in the situation I found myself in, having to take care of two small children.
“It saved my home for many years, which was very important to us.” And on top of that, it gave me enough money to start and finance ULTRAFREE.”
Drea only had $10 in her bank account when she opened her OnlyFans account.
She found herself in a perilous financial situation after seeking forbearance to help pay off her mortgage, but ultimately couldn't afford the astronomical sum she owed to debt collectors.
“They foreclosed on me and my house was flooded, so I tried to sell the house quickly,” she said. “I wanted to try to sell it before they took it.”
“At the same time I lost my mother and my other mother, who has dementia, ran out of money for her carer. 'I didn't know which way was up.'
But it wasn't long before Drea started raking in big, life-saving money on OnlyFans.
“I uploaded more and more pictures,” she remembers.
She revealed that she was able to earn enough money to pay off her debts in five minutes
“I was like, holy shit. “In five minutes I was able to pay it back to Compass Real Estate, who kept the sale of my house going.”
But Drea initially didn’t want to embrace the platform. And in fact, she first toyed with the idea because she and her husband had been thinking about teaming up to create a quasi-podcast.
“I did it, but I didn't want to do it,” she admitted. “I got in a lot of trouble for it and it went fucking viral and people went crazy.”
“I mean, the original premise for opening OnlyFans was that Robbie and I wanted to do a podcast there that was controversial. We wanted to put it behind a paywall so it wouldn't be destroyed in the media for it.
“That's how it was originally supposed to be, you know, like rubbing my feet because you have to add a little something for OnlyFans.”
Drea, pictured with James Gandolfini, rose to fame in the acclaimed drama The Sopranos
Drea played Adriana La Cerva on The Sopranos for seven years between 1999 and 2006.
Although Drea joined OnlyFans out of sheer necessity, she's grown to love it and discovered a new sense of empowerment – and she doesn't plan on giving it up any time soon.
“It’s good to see these photos,” she enthused.
“Maybe they've touched up here and there, but the truth is they're videotaping me while we're doing the photoshoot so fans can watch the photoshoot in real time.”
“Overall I look good, and the best part is that I'm getting heavier.” I don't look good in pictures when I'm skinny. I can eat and eat before the photo shoot. “I can bulk up to look better.”
Revealing her surprising diet ahead of the photoshoot, Drea shared, “We're just carb loading.” I'm just an Italian in the world and I eat spaghetti, pasta and steak.
“You want your boobs to be big and your butt to be big.” Otherwise, the photos are a snoozefest!'
Drea has launched her own street style brand ULTRAFREE, which is all about “making freedom cool again.”
The clothing style was inspired by Drea's 12-year-old son Waylon (pictured).
Not only has Drea gained a lot of confidence and paid off her debts, but she was also able to launch her own streetwear brand ULTRAFREE.
The clothing style was inspired by her 12-year-old son Waylon.
“He's a hype beast maniac, and that works for us because we're going to do a lot of limited editions because some of it is handmade in our backyard,” she shared.
Drea explains that the concept behind the clothing is about “making freedom cool again.”
“Freedom from anything that makes you feel imprisoned, whether it’s a mental illness or a physical illness or an ideology,” she said.
“God knows that the ideologies that have been pushed in the last three years have not helped society.”
“Merch is all about this: Don’t let anyone tell you who you are, you already know who you are, no matter what.”
“Don’t let anyone put you down, you don’t need exercise, you just need to be free.”