Former Hollyoaks star Sarah Jayne Dunn has said her role as breadwinner for her family is a “taboo subject” in a candid discussion about the stigmas women face.
The 41-year-old actress was talking about the new series of her hot and annoying podcast with former co-stars Ali Bastian and Carley Stenson, which launched on Wednesday.
In November 2021, Sarah was kicked out of Hollyoaks after joining the adult subscription service OnlyFans. because the producers felt that she was not ‘in line with her target audience’ of her.
She has reportedly now earned over £700,000 from the X-rated subscription site, more than a year after being laid off from her £120,000 acting job.
Speaking on the podcast, the three best friends candidly discussed topics like ‘mummy shaming’ and returning to work after having a baby, as well as reminiscing about their time in Hollyoaks.
Candid talk: Sarah Jayne Dunn, 41, shared the taboos about being a working mom on her Hot and Bothered podcast on Wednesday
Model: The actress built an alternative career on the adult-only subscription site after signing up in 2021, a move that ultimately cost her a long-running role on Hollyoaks.
Sarah said: ‘I am the breadwinner for the family. For me, I feel more pressure because I have always been the support of every relationship.
‘I have always worked and I am at the moment. For me there was a lot of “I have to go back to work” because I’m the one putting in the salary, so I’ll cover all the bills. This is how it has to be.
‘Again, it’s a bit taboo, isn’t it? Being the breadwinner as a woman I think is a bit of a taboo topic.
Sarah has been married to Jonathan Smith since 2018 and the couple have a son, Stanley.
She felt that another taboo she faces is that of gender roles in parenting, adding that if she misses a few days dropping her child off at school, people will ask where she is. But if Jonathan is not seen for a few days, no questions will be asked.
Despite being the breadwinner for her own family, Sarah reflected that the gender pay gap could prevent many from going back to work as soon as they wanted.
She said: “It seems that as women we get more scrutiny for going back to work, especially if you go back to work sooner rather than later once you’ve had a child.”
Whereas men get nothing from that judgment. There’s nothing like “your baby is only six months old and you’re going back to work.” The men are back.
Supportive mother: Sarah said she is the breadwinner for her family: husband Jonathan and son Stan, (pictured)
I think it feels like everything depends on you. And I think also with the men who can return to work.
“It feels a lot like it’s your baby, rather than like you say, a shared thing and a shared experience. Work must be part of that. It should be a choice.
“Especially with the gender pay gap: it seems that women are being valued a bit. The men will go back to work because they are making more money than us, especially with the cost of childcare.’
But they went on to discuss how the situation was made worse by the limited amount of paternity leave offered to men.
The star, who played Mandy Richardson on Hollyoaks from 1996 to 2021, previously said she was “so much happier” after she was kicked off the show for her posts on the raunchy website.
He said that posting his own photos on OnlyFans meant that he had been able to take control of his own image.
When a fan asked: ‘How do you feel since you don’t work for Hollyoaks anymore?’, Sarah replied: ‘Free’.
Another follower questioned: “If Hollyoaks had let you stay regardless of OnlyFans, would you have left anyway?”
To which Sarah replied, “Leaving the show was never my intention or choice, but I believe in everything for a reason and I’m so much happier now.”
In December, Sarah made the decision to make her OnlyFans page free after several of her sexy photos were leaked online.
The actress now has two pages: one that is free, while another has a base subscription charge of £14.99 per month.
Sarah previously received a generous 80 percent commission from OnlyFans, making her the top 0.5 percent of creators after turning down the chance to return to the soap.