After MAFS, Mishel struggled to find work. Now she makes triple her income on OnlyFans.

The one thing Mishel Karen wanted to walk away with from her Married At First Sight Australia experience was love. 

While she didn't receive that, the former bride from season seven now knows herself better than she ever has before.

"I'd never do [MAFS] again," Mishel told Mamamia. 

"I was so tired. I would just not do it again. But it did give me a different opportunity; the ability to really appreciate who I am."

Watch Mishel's greatest one-liners on Married At First Sight. Post continues after video. 

Mishel's no bullsh*t attitude made her one of the most memorable brides in MAFS history. But following the show, she became "very unwell".

"The best way to explain it is, you're very unwell after MAFS. Some of the stuff that happens to you is very questionable," she said. 

"For a year [after], I had to be monitored by my sister and my daughter. I was just not well."

Being able to walk straight out of the show and into COVID lockdowns was a saving grace.

"We [the participants] were already used to lockdown. I understood it and I knew what it already felt like because we had done it for the last four or five months," she said. 

"But it was great [for me] because people were not around and I got to walk out of 2020 with a vision for my life. That year was really profound for me and I got to sit there and reflect."

"It took me a good year of not doing anything to focus on my mental health," she added.

Mishel eventually returned to her role as a Queensland Police policy trainer but it had become difficult thanks to the attention Married At First Sight brought her. 

Mishel Karen turned to OnlyFans as a way to make money in 2020. Image: Instagram @mishel_meshes.

"It was very hard to be taken seriously," she recalled.

"They just wanted to know what it was like to be on TV. People felt uncomfortable around me and [they] changed their attitude towards me."

Mishel also lost decade-long friendships.

"I come out of it with not a single friend – none of my friends that I had before the show is with me now," she said.

"I've lost family as well."

In 2020, Mishel turned to OnlyFans to make money after losing her job. 

Her immediate family – her son and daughter – knew she'd go ahead with or without their blessing, so they gave it to her. 

Mishel Karen has built a successful career on OnlyFans. Image: Instagram @mishel_meshes.

Soon after she started doing it, headlines appeared about the former contestant, shaming her for her age. 

"I think initially the media was calling me 'Porn Gran'," Mishel recalled. 

"I think they were saying it more derogatorily than positively and I [spoke to the journo who wrote it and said], 'This is bad. You can't say this. It's just making older women and men feel ashamed of having sex or feeling sexual'."

"I think it's really, really important to not make women feel embarrassed," she added. 

Now years later, Mishel has built a lucrative career on OnlyFans as a sex worker – although she would prefer to be referred to as an "Internet Marketer". 

"I'm the brand and I'm just marketing myself," she told us.

She makes triple her former income, with the most money she's ever made been during COVID lockdowns.

"You make a lot of money every time there is a lockdown," she said. "It's very, very good, but is also very, very sad. It's like working a normal job but there are ebbs and flows."

Listen to this episode of Sealed Section, hosted by Chantelle Otten. Post continues after audio. 

Now being her own boss, Mishel decides what she wants to do each day – and it doesn't usually involve filming content. 

"Today I spent a few hours at the beach and then I got some lunch but in the mornings, I usually respond to messages," she said. 

"And then again at night, I get on [OnlyFans] and I respond to all my messages. They're subscribed to me and deserve to speak to me. I just work for about three or four hours and then that's it."

In regards to making content, Mishel likes to plan a month or two ahead.  

"I'll do a day of filming or taking photos and then that will be enough for a few weeks," she explained, before adding that she will typically rent out an Airbnb for a day or two to focus on her work. 

"You can upload or schedule content weeks ahead."

Not only does the job pay well, but it's also become a sounding board for men who want to know how they can please their partners. 

"Women don't ask [me] but men are," she said. 

"They ask me, 'What can I do?' Men are good at asking for advice. I'm always the first to say, 'This is what I would try. Here's my advice.'"

"I don't give a solicited like if but if they do want it, I'm there to help. I tell them about different games to play and all the lingerie to buy [for their partner], or different toys. It's great," she added.

Aside from her online gig, Mishel is in the beginning stages of writing a book, launching a podcast and coming out with her own sex toy collaboration.

"I want women to understand that pleasure is for everyone and that they can obtain it," she said. 

"I think that everyone deserves pleasure and to have their needs met."

Feature Image: Nine/Instagram @mishel_meshes.

Are you someone who values beauty, health, and self-care? Take our short survey to go in the running to win a $50 gift voucher!