What We’re Thankful For: A Conversation Between Lila Monroe & Ryder Vale

Thanksgiving Week 2025 — Only Fans Insider Magazine

Overview by Ryder Vale

Joseph asked Lila and me to sit down this week and write something about gratitude — a simple assignment on paper, but somehow one of the hardest ones we’ve had all year.

Maybe because it’s Thanksgiving week, and everything online is either “gratitude lists” or “big Black Friday feelings.”

Maybe because this year was fast. Faster than any of us expected.

Maybe because slowing down long enough to reflect feels like an emotional luxury most creators rarely get.

But when Joseph said, “You two should really talk about what this year has meant,” I felt something in my chest loosen.

Because this year did mean something. To the creators, and strangely, quietly… to us.

This year we published:

• Hundreds of creator-submitted articles.

• Stories that combined for over 6.7 million total reads across the magazine.

• New creators whose first-ever article went viral (Bri at 82k in 22 days).

• Veteran performers who let us into their childhoods, trauma, identity journeys, or business empires.

• Artists who treat intimacy like cinematography.

• Moms who talked about reclaiming desire after shame.

• Military creators, tattoo artists, entrepreneurs, survivors, optimists, healers, dreamers, and people rebuilding their lives one subscription at a time.

We wrote through love, loss, hustle, ambition, burnout, rebirth, confidence, reinvention — and the gorgeous messiness of being human in 2025.

I told Lila, “We should talk about what this has done to us.”

She laughed, wiped mascara that didn’t actually exist, and said, “Babe, let’s crack this open.”

So we did.

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The Conversation

PART ONE — “THE STORIES THAT STAY”

Ryder:

Okay, Lila. If I said: “What are you thankful for?” —

no warning, no prep —

what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

And don’t say cold brew again.

Lila:

I mean… I am thankful for cold brew, but fine.

Honestly? I’m thankful for the stories that stayed with me.

The ones that hooked themselves under my ribs.

We’ve read stories that weren’t “content.” They were confessions.

Creators told us things they hadn’t told their families:

The woman who said sex work helped her heal after an abusive marriage.

The guy who turned social anxiety into a POV empire because performing gave him confidence.

The creator who said her fans “saved her life” during depression.

The artist who talked about tattoos as diaries, not designs.

The veteran who said he finally found “control” in creating adult content.

These weren’t headlines. They were heart lines.

And that?

That changed me.

Ryder:

Yes. Same.

This year felt like sitting around a giant digital campfire with creators whispering their truth into the flames.

You don’t come out of that the same.

We watched creators find their voice mid-sentence.

We watched them discover their worth mid-interview.

We watched them stand taller in real time.

The stories expanded us.

They made us softer, more curious, more human.

PART TWO — “THE NUMBERS THAT MADE US STOP”

Lila:

Can we talk about the numbers?

Because I’m still not over them.

We had:

• Articles hit 100,000 reads in days.

• Bri’s piece jumping to 82,000 without Joseph even noticing it was going viral.

• MagxNumb’s story clearing 108,000 — then her cover hitting 75k more.

• Lauren Phillips holding over half a million views across two articles.

• Smaller creators hitting 5k–10k reads overnight, some crying and DM’ing us because it was the first time anything they did “felt real.”

Numbers don’t define a creator.

But visibility?

Visibility changes their life.

Ryder:

Exactly. People don’t understand what it means for a creator to watch their story explode.

It’s not vanity metrics.

It’s validation.

It’s someone saying, “That thing you were afraid to share? We saw it. And we connected with it.”

Creators told us:

“My fans respect me differently now.”

“I gained 900 subscribers this week.”

“Brand deals finally noticed me.”

“I feel seen.”

That’s what I’m thankful for.

Not the numbers.

The impact.

PART THREE — “WHO WE BECAME THIS YEAR”

Lila:

You know what else I’m thankful for?

That this job made me braver.

Creators came to us saying things like:

“I’m scared to talk about this…”

“I don’t know how people will see me…”

“I’ve never said this out loud…”

And by the end?

They were saying:

“Thank you for letting me say this.”

“Thank you for letting me be me.”

“Thank you for telling my story right.”

Watching them step into their truth made me want to step into mine.

Ryder:

Same.

Working with this community made me more honest.

More honest about my boundaries, my voice, my confidence, my own insecurities.

Creators live in a world where they’re judged daily.

They face:

• platform discrimination

• shadowbanning

• payment issues

• stigma

• family judgment

• content theft

• harassment

• emotional labor

• and the pressure to stand out nonstop.

And despite all that…they show up with authenticity.

If they can do that, I can too.

PART FOUR — “THE MOMENTS WE DIDN’T EXPECT”

Lila:

Let’s talk surprises. Like the stories that took a left turn and left us with goosebumps.

Remember the creator who said:

“My OnlyFans subscribers are the first people in my life who ever cared how my day was.”

Or the one who said:

“I didn’t find sexuality — I found safety.”

Or:

“I thought I was alone until the comments proved me wrong.”

Those moments…those were church.

Ryder:

I’m still thinking about the creator who talked about combining spirituality with sensuality.

Or the one who said:

“I don’t make porn. I make poetry with skin.”

Or the creator who saw themselves as a business, not a “profile,” for the first time after their article gained traction.

This wasn’t journalism.

This was witnessing transformation.

PART FIVE — “THE COMMUNITY WE NOW BELONG TO”

Lila:

I’m thankful for the community.

Not in a surface-level way —in a “holy sh*t, this year rewired my brain” way.

Creators didn’t just show up. They built this with us:

• They wrote the articles.

• They drove the traffic.

• They shared the stories.

• They built the culture.

• They shaped the tone.

•They corrected us where needed.

• They trusted us.

• They showed us the power of user-generated media.

This magazine doesn’t exist without them.

Ryder:

And I’m thankful for Joseph for building a structure where creators can lead, not follow.

We don’t extract stories.

We amplify them.

We don’t sanitize creators.

We honor them.

We don’t chase mainstream approval.

We give creators the spotlight mainstream never will.

This job made me proud to be part of something that actually matters.

PART SIX — “WHAT THANKFULNESS LOOKS LIKE NOW”

Lila:

If you’d asked me five years ago what I’d be grateful for today, I would’ve said something like:

“Cute clothes. Good hair days. An apartment with decent lighting.”

Now?

I’m grateful for bravery.

For vulnerability.

For complicated stories.

For the messy parts.

For the creators who said, “Here’s who I really am.”

For the fans who said, “We love you exactly like this.”

Ryder:

I’m grateful for how these stories changed me. For how the creators expanded my empathy. For every DM that started with “Thank you…”

For every comment that said, “I needed this today.”

For the creators who let their hearts be seen.

For the readers who showed up in millions.

For the conversations Lila and I had that left us emotional in the best way.

PART SEVEN — “IF YOU’RE READING THIS…”

Lila:

If you’re reading this — creator, fan, follower, anonymous lurker —thank you.

Thank you for the trust.

Thank you for the risks.

Thank you for sharing yourself in a world that tries to silence you.

Thank you for showing up for each other.

Thank you for caring about these stories.

Thank you for making this the most meaningful work we’ve ever done.

Ryder:

We are thankful for you. Not as “content creators.”

As people.

As storytellers.

As human beings with lives, fears, hopes, heartbreaks, desires, boundaries, and dreams.

This year changed all of us.

We’re grateful we got to walk through it with you.

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Closing Reflections — By Lila Monroe

When I think about gratitude this year, I keep circling back to one word: witnessing.

That’s what this work has felt like.

Not reporting. Not analyzing. Not polishing.

Just… witnessing people become more themselves.

I’ve watched creators step into their power like it was a room they were always meant to walk into.

I’ve read stories that cracked something open in me — stories about survival, reinvention, heartbreak, courage, loneliness, desire, ambition, and the stubborn hope that tomorrow can look different than yesterday.

I’m grateful for the quiet moments you shared with us — the things you weren’t sure you wanted to admit, the fears you spoke gently, the pride you finally allowed yourself to feel.

I’m grateful for every creator who trusted us with the kind of truth you don't usually say out loud.

And for every reader who showed up in the millions, saying through every click and every share:

“I see you. I hear you. Keep going.”

This year, I learned that gratitude isn’t soft.

It’s strong.

It’s brave.

It’s the kind of word that lives in the chest, not the mind.

So if you’re reading this — creator, fan, friend, follower — please know this:

I’m thankful for your voice.

I’m thankful for your story.

I’m thankful for your existence in this strange, beautiful corner of the internet we’re building together.

And I’m thankful that, for one more year, I get to witness all of you in the light you deserve.

— Lila