Denise Richards: Even OnlyFans Stars Have Parenting Snafus

Unless they’re Luddites, most parents have experienced that moment with one of their children—the moment when their kid stumbles upon a picture on a device that wasn’t meant for their eyes. Generally speaking, it’s an embarrassing selfie that said kiddo happens upon. No big deal, and everyone moves on, right? Well, for OnlyFans moms, those kinds of oopsies get a little… spicier. Just ask Denise Richards. The Hollywood star turned OnlyFans creator will tell you all about a recent technology betrayal that resulted in her youngest daughter seeing images of her mom in a new light.Denise’s daughter, Eloise, is 13 and has a chromosome disorder that renders her mostly non-verbal, so she frequently uses an iPad to communicate. One morning, she was innocently using her iPad when an unanticipated iCloud sync caused Eloise to see images of her mother that were taken on another device. Those images were intended for Denise’s OnlyFans page and, as you can imagine, weren’t supposed to find their way onto her child’s device—at 8 AM, no less! How did Eloise handle this less-than-ideal moment? She threw her hands up and laughed, because what else is a teen supposed to do when unexpectedly faced with sexy pictures of their mother? Not only did Eloise handle the accidental viewing with grace, but she did so in front of a rolling camera. Oh yes, footage for Denise Richards & Her Wild Things was being shot in the house that morning, so now the entire world can share in some high-quality secondhand embarrassment. Most parents have been there, but it’s not usually quite this flavor of awkward in most households.

If you—like some of us here—are just now finding out that Denise Richards is on OnlyFans: 1. You’re welcome. 2. It really shouldn’t be such a huge surprise that everyone’s favorite ‘90s babe is showing up for her fans on the adults-only platform. Richards is known to be a wizard at self-reinvention, having gone from being one of the Bond girls to a reality TV star and now an OnlyFans content creator. She joined the adults-only platform in 2022, shortly after her oldest daughter, Sami, turned 18 and started her own account. Yes, this mother-daughter duo is indeed on OnlyFans. No, they don’t make content together (ew, what is wrong with you?). Yes, they are both fiercely supportive of one another’s career choices. Critics have been scandalized, but that’s literally what critics do, so I don’t know why anyone expected anything different. “She’s an adult making her own career choices, and so am I,” was Denise’s unbothered response to the pearl-clutching crowd. OnlyFans allows creators to take control of their content, so whether or not a creator even makes explicit content is entirely up to the individual creator— unfortunately, making sure auto-sync is turned off is also up to the individual creator.

As you might expect, the internet has indeed had a field day over the spicy picture snafu, with reactions ranging from horrified—“Who is going to protect this innocent child?!”—to solidarity from other parents whose children are far too gifted at finding exactly what they shouldn’t. Meanwhile, Eloise has shrugged off the whole incident and moved on with her life.

Denise elected to stay true to herself in handling the situation. She didn’t panic but laughed it off and kept it real. On the show, she referred to the incident as a “mishap,” showing her sense of humor about the whole thing. Why did she share the incident in the first place? Well, it’s 2025. Women taking control of their content is normal, and unfortunately, so are the technology fails that parents have to navigate with their children in real time. Denise might be a Hollywood icon, but her choice to share this little OnlyFans whoopsie makes her relatable to a whole different crowd who could honestly use a dose of solidarity from a fellow parent who steps in it from time to time.

Listen. If even a former Bond girl isn’t safe from being betrayed by technology, what hope do the rest of us have, hmm? Lessons learned: 1. Double-check those iCloud settings regularly, even if you use separate devices for business and family life. 2. Take a moment to offer thanks to Denise Richards, our new patron saint of accidental parental overshares.