Mia Khalifa Opens Up About Life After Porn: ‘I’m Ashamed of My Past’
The former adult-film actress spoke to Marlow Stern about why she walked away from the industry after only three months, societal stigmas, and what she’s up to now.
Mia Khalifa sounds happy. The 26-year-old is currently in Copenhagen, in the midst of an exciting wedding weekend alongside her fiancé Robert Sandberg—a chef at the Michelin-starred Danish restaurant Kong Hans Kælder. Her pending nuptials notwithstanding, the social-media sensation—16.8 million Instagram followers and rising—is also basking in the glow of her recent sit-down interview with life coach Megan Abbott, which has generated over 1.1 million YouTube views (and tons of clickbait headlines) since its Aug. 4 debut.
In it, Khalifa was candid about both her experience in the adult industry—which lasted just three months and twelve scenes, earning her a grand total of $12,000 despite her status as the No. 1 star on Pornhub—as well as why she chose to leave at the height of her fame, and the stigma that’s followed her since.
For the uninitiated, and those in denial about their level of familiarity with her work, Khalifa made waves after appearing in an adult scene dressed in hijab. She was then roundly criticized by the Lebanese and Middle Eastern media, and received a ton of death threats online (including from ISIS). The volume around her got so high that she walked.