Megan Gaither, a 31-year-old English teacher and varsity cheerleading coach at St. Clair High School in Missouri, has faced suspension from her teaching duties following the revelation of her participation as an adult content creator on OnlyFans, an adult entertainment platform. Her case is similar to that of her colleague, Brianna Coppage, who was suspended for the same reason the previous month.
Megan Gaither started her OnlyFans account in May, seeking to supplement her income and manage her financial responsibilities. As a teacher, she found it challenging to make ends meet during the summer months due to her teaching salary. Gaither’s OnlyFans earnings were reported to be up to $5,000 a month, which provided much-needed financial support.
Heyyyy! Are you having a good night? 💋💋💋
— Megan Gaither (@AAonOF) October 29, 2023
Despite keeping her identity and face hidden on her OnlyFans account, her involvement in the platform was discovered. A student at St. Clair High School left a note under her classroom door, hinting at knowledge of her secret. This discovery eventually led to her suspension from her teaching position.
Megan Gaither and her colleague Brianna Coppage, who had also been suspended for her OnlyFans involvement, claimed that they didn’t know about each other’s participation in the platform until June when they revealed their secrets during a teachers’ night event.
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Megan Gaither revealed that she joined OnlyFans to help pay back her substantial student loans, which amounted to more than $125,000. Her annual salary, including a coaching stipend, was reported to be around $47,500, which made it challenging to manage her student loan debt and other financial obligations.
Brianna Coppage, another teacher at the same school, decided to resign from her teaching position to focus on her work as an OnlyFans content creator. She made this decision after being placed on leave due to her involvement on the platform. Coppage’s teaching salary was reported to be $42,000, which prompted her to use OnlyFans to supplement her income.
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Both Gaither and Coppage experienced financial success on OnlyFans. Gaither was making an additional $3,000 to $5,000 a month on the platform, while Coppage reported making close to $1 million after leaving her teaching position. These earnings illustrate the substantial financial opportunities available on platforms like OnlyFans.
Gaither initially took measures to remain anonymous on OnlyFans by keeping her identity hidden, including her face. She aimed to maintain a level of privacy while earning extra income.
Rumors started circulating among students when Gaither appeared in a video on Coppage’s OnlyFans account. Although Gaither’s face was not visible in the video, the situation became more complicated when a photo from the event appeared online, showing her in the same outfit as in the video. This discovery eventually led to her suspension.
Gaither and Coppage were unaware of each other’s involvement in OnlyFans until June, when they disclosed their participation during a “Teachers Night” event at Busch Stadium.
Gaither described Coppage as her best friend, highlighting the bond between the two teachers who shared similar experiences regarding their participation on OnlyFans.
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The situation highlights the financial challenges faced by many teachers, as Missouri is reported to have one of the lowest starting salaries for teachers in the United States, according to the National Education Association. Both Gaither and Coppage turned to OnlyFans as a way to supplement their incomes and manage their financial obligations, including student loans.
While Megan Gaither deactivated her OnlyFans account after her colleague’s account was discovered, the impact on her teaching career was significant. She expressed her love for teaching and her students but acknowledged that her career at St. Clair High School was over, regardless of her next steps.
“I’ve put a lot of thought into if I should say something on here publicly, and for my own peace of mind, I think I just want to say this,” Megan Gaither wrote of facebook. “I LOVE education and teaching, and I loved seeing my students and cheerleaders learn and grow into themselves. I’m damned good at helping them do that. Hell, you don’t get 2 master’s degrees to better your craft and help your students if you don’t. So, while I understand the stigma and the “you signed a contract telling you how much you get paid” argument, I will maintain that “morality” is a sliding scale and what is moral to me may not be moral to you, and that’s ok. Don’t like it? Don’t subscribe or follow.”
“I did NOT want this to happen. I hid very well behind an alias and no face pics. The fact of the matter is, this choice was taken from me. I had multiple coworkers calling these newspapers to start my downfall here. Speculation about a pic and a vid with no evidence was fine, but if you are in education, you know… if media gets ahold of something like this, it’s over. You’ll never work in this specific field again bc you’re tainted and seen as a liability for a school. Again, we knew the consequences of getting caught. I did NOT get caught in the traditional sense” She added.
“The media was going to publish the story with or without my statement and my words. SO, I took back my narrative. I took control of what I could take control of. I had no time to make this decision, so to whoever thought it was their right to “out” me to the media, with all disrespect, kindly fuck off my page, and enjoy seeing me everywhere. Bc I’m making noise. I’m going to be loud and in your face about it. What adults do in their own time is their choice, and you have no right to dictate those choices for them, regardless of career choice,” Megan Gaither described.
“So, I’ll be speaking to media. I’ll be telling my story. And hey. At least I didn’t try to neglect my duties of paying back what I borrowed to get educated, right? I made the adult choice of getting a side hustle. And guess what? It’s working out ok so far.” – Megan said.
Megan Gaither’s suspension highlights the complex issues surrounding teacher pay and the challenges teachers face in making ends meet. Both Gaither and Coppage have spoken out about their experiences in an effort to raise awareness about the financial difficulties faced by teachers and the choices some are forced to make to manage their financial responsibilities.
The story brings to light the financial struggles of many educators and raises questions about the broader issues related to teacher pay and the need for more equitable compensation in the education sector.
