Kayla Jade says one frustrating client message convinced her it was time to retire

Kayla Jade says her decision to leave sex work came after an irritating exchange with a client made her realise her patience had run out. In her first media interview since retiring, she described how an ordinary morning spent checking messages became the moment she decided she was done. “I was just sitting going through my morning messages and I was dealing with a client and he was just being so annoying and messing me around,” she said. “It just hit me and I was like, ‘I feel like my time is up’.” Jade said she decided that morning she would not return to the work. The Australian sex worker, 32, said she had enjoyed her career, but that the experience of dealing with clients could be demanding. She told the outlet that her patience with men had been wearing thin, and singled out the client’s behaviour as the immediate trigger for her retirement. Jade also spoke about the importance of setting boundaries. She said she had refused various client requests over the years, including one from a man who wanted her to dress as a family member. In her view, pushing past personal limits or agreeing to things that make a worker uncomfortable can make the job harder to enjoy. Among the requests she said she particularly liked were those involving food. She has also spoken publicly about the less comfortable realities of escorting, while advocating for sex workers and challenging stigma around the industry. Jade was recently included in a list of Australia’s top 100 “sexperts,” according to the report. The outlet noted her large social media following, including 2.4 million followers on TikTok. She said she would continue advocating for sex work, while turning her attention more fully to family after leaving the trade.