My ex girlfriend, my first true (young) love, has been an addict for a long time. This complicated, kindhearted woman grew up with poverty, abuse, and mental health struggles. Sheâs had severe asthma for her entire life and I watched her almost lose consciousness while she couldnât breathe bc her mom couldnât afford her inhaler till the next day, she begged me not to call an ambulance because her mom couldnât afford the bill. I watched her fight her mom and miss her absentee dad and try to scrape together enough money to feed herself and her little sister. And then she turned to coke, and then opiates. Sheâs been a heroin addict ever since.
Iâve had to set boundaries with her because she would reach out to me begging for money. Iâm still friends with her on social media and Iâm watching her spiral. A week ago she posted a photo of her empty inhaler begging anyone to send her an inhaler or some money. The next day she suddenly had an onlyfans and was posting full nudes on fb with only the necessities censored â100 photos + 20 videos - cheapâ. She looks so sick. Emaciated. Track marks on her arms. And there were men in the comments saying âhell yeah send me a link đâ. Sheâs a lesbian and a domestic abuse survivor. The idea of these disgusting men jacking off to her and sending her $10 while sheâs struggling to breathe and not go into withdrawals is making my fucking skin crawl. My heart is breaking for her.
I donât wanna hear any of the sex work is real work bs. Iâm so tired of women being exploited at every turn. If my ex had any other option to make enough money to care for herself, she would never be doing this.
The fucking kicker is that I found out the next day that her 20 yo little sister is escorting and âmodelingâ now too. Poverty and trauma breed sex work. It is an end of the road option. And it shouldnât be an option.