As for the performers I’ve spoken to, none of them said they have any regrets regarding the decisions they’ve made in their personal romantic and sex lives.
Michaels and his partner are now happily engaged and plan to marry this year.ĭating in any stressful career isn’t easy, but the particular stigma surrounding sex work can complicate matters for some. This ultimately led Michaels to quit porn, finding it too much of a burden on himself and his relationship. “It’s just not something that’s super conducive to the kind of relationship that we have.”Įven though he says sex work was “just a paycheck,” he still felt as though it was negatively impacting his relationship. “ just something that makes me uncomfortable and it’s something that I know not comfortable with,” he says. He began dating his partner around the same time he filmed his first scene, and found that the required traveling, combined with the actual work, proved to be too much of a hurdle for him and his partner to overcome. But while some actors decide to put relationships on hold while staying active in the industry, others have the opposite impulse.Įzra Michaels worked for Helix Studios as a gay porn actor up until a few months ago.
Jackson adds that although he rarely has enjoyable sex while filming, performances still deplete him of his sex drive off-camera. “My ex was always the one who had to pull it out of me.” It reminds me too much of work,” he says. It’s so much hard work that I don’t even want to do it off-camera ‘cause I’m tired. “ being open with my sexuality, knowing my body better, what works and what doesn’t - and that can make for some crazy sex.”įor Jackson, however, having as much sex as he does for work can lead to avoiding sex with his long-term romantic partner. “Because of porn, I’ve learned many things,” says Dante Colle, who has filmed around 80 scenes in the past year and has worked with studios like Men.com and Falcon. For many porn stars, this concern stems from the idea that they need to be ready to perform at all times. He has only been in one long-term relationship during his 10-year career, and he admits that fear of STIs keeps him from pursuing casual sex. “And if you test positive for anything, you’re not able to shoot at all.”ĭeAngelo Jackson, a gay porn performer who appears in Noir Male films, says that he rarely has sex outside of filming. “ a really, really elaborate system that’s meant to keep performers safe,” DelRay says. DelRay mentions that the fear of testing positive for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is one factor that may deter people from having sex outside of filming, as positive results can jeopardize a person's income. But being a single porn star can come with its own set of complications too, especially when it comes to having an independent sex life. Problems like these can cause many to avoid dating within the industry altogether. “There’s just a lot of little jealousies and a lot of bickering inside the industry.” “When you’re dating within the industry, yes, there’s a lot more understanding, but there are a lot of idiosyncrasies that are real pains in the ass, like, ‘Oh, you got to fuck my boyfriend,’ and ‘I’m a bigger star than you, I have a bigger following here,’” he says. Michael DelRay is a gay porn performer who works for companies like Next Door Studios and CockyBoys, and he feels that dating within and outside of the adult film industry are equally difficult. “Besides making me uncomfortable, if I am with someone who I am interested in, this can be a little embarrassing.”Īt first glance, the most obvious option to many would be to date within the industry, but dating another porn actor can be a struggle of its own. “I’ve been out to the bars before and people will say things to me that, because I am a sex worker, they think it is acceptable to say to a total stranger - complimenting my… size, or my body, making sexual remarks to me, etc.,” he writes in the video’s description.