Real-life 'Pretty Woman' love story stuns conservative family as escort, 46, weds wealthy widower, 77: We reveal how his sons reacted - and the crazy perks of their marriage
A Navy veteran who became a homeless sex worker has revealed how she ended up in the lap of luxury by marrying a millionaire client - in an unconventional love story that mirrors the plot of 1990 rom-com Pretty Woman.
Addyson James, 46, joined the American Navy fresh out of high school because she couldn't afford to go to college.
She spent five years serving in multiple locations, including on the Diego Garcia military base and the warship USS Nimitz, before leaving the armed forces to become a beautician.
Addyson enjoyed her job, but she yearned for something more exciting, so when an adult movie producer approached her on social media about starring in X-rated movies, she decided to take him up on his offer.
While she was initially reluctant to dive into sex work, the thrill of a wild new career path – which could also potentially be very lucrative – was too tempting to pass up.
But it wasn't the fast-track to financial freedom she was hoping for. Despite commanding up to $1,300 per scene, Addyson still found herself living paycheck to paycheck.
'If you work 12 hours, you're getting a little bit more than a hundred dollars an hour for your time,' she explained.
'And then you've got to pay out your agency fee. You've got to pay for your [STI] testing, you've got to pay for travel and lodging,' she added.
Navy veteran Addyson James was homeless and working in a brothel when she found love with one of her clients - a millionaire widower
The couple's unconventional love story mirrors the plot of 1990 rom-com Pretty Woman, starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts
'There's gas and maintenance on your car... you've got clothing and hair, there's a look.'
Once she'd covered all of her expenses, she would sometimes be left with just $400 in her pocket.
Addyson managed to make ends meet for several years until a herniated disc left her unable to work for a few months, and she soon found herself drowning financially.
She moved in with a friend to save money on rent, but after the pair had a falling-out, Addyson ended up homeless.
As a last resort, she decided to go work at Sheri's Ranch – an infamous brothel outside of Las Vegas – to try to get back on her feet.
'It'll give me a safe place to stay,' she reasoned at the time.
Although she never officially lived at the bordello, she was able to stay there for a week or two at a time while trying to earn a living.
'My first week when I needed money, I made zero dollars,' she said.
Addyson spent five years serving in the navy, but she fell into sex work later in life
'When I left, I was driving back to California for a shoot and I cried the whole way. I bawled my eyes out. I was so upset and questioning everything, like, "How did I get here? Why am I doing this?"'
Despite being down on her luck, Addyson returned to Sheri's Ranch for another stint, which proved to be much more successful.
After a month of working there, she was emailed by a man named Jim, a retired engineer, who confessed that he hadn't been intimate with another woman since his wife of four decades had passed away several years earlier.
'He didn't just want to get somebody off the street, which is illegal. Brothels are legal, so he felt very safe,' Addyson shared.
'He saw my photo and he thought I was beautiful. He liked what my write-up was, so we had some nice email correspondence and he came to spend the evening with me.'
That one evening turned into two nights, with Jim splashing out $25,000 for her time.
'To be honest, we did a lot of talking and getting to know each other,' she said.
Addyson discovered the adult industry wasn't as lucrative as she'd hoped. She also became homeless after a back injury left her unable to work for several months
Despite a 31-year age-gap between Addyson and Jim, 77, the pair found they had plenty in common, including the fact they were both veterans.
'On the first evening I mentioned that I wanted to get my boobs done, and on the second evening he said, "I would like to pay for you to get your boobs done,"' she recalled.
'I just laughed at him and said, "What?" He goes, "I think you're beautiful, but if that's something you'd like to do, I'd like to help you with it because I know you can't do it for yourself right now – no strings attached."'
Addyson decided to mull it over while Jim went back home to Missouri, and when he returned to the ranch the following month, she accepted the offer.
'He also said, "I'm going to marry you one day. I'm crazy about you, I think you're amazing." I could see how genuine he was in his eyes,' she said.
It was at this point that Addyson felt that Jim might be The One, but she knew that marrying him meant giving up the brothel for good.
'I said, "Well, I'll have to leave the brothel. I can't keep my job here because if they find out I'll get in trouble,"' she said.
'And he goes, "That's okay. I'll take care of it. I'll take care of you." And I'm like, "Take care of me?" I'd never had a man that was going to take care of me!'
Addyson found love with a client named Jim and within two months they were married
Jim's family has been supportive of their marriage so far, which is surprising given how conservative he is
Addyson got engaged to Jim and left the ranch, but she was still homeless and wasn't quite ready to pack up her life in Arizona to move to Missouri just yet, so Jim surprised her by buying her a house.
'He bought me a brand-new house in Arizona. It's in my name and he pays all the bills,' she gushed.
'And he also bought me a brand-new BMW,' added Addyson, who said that she now feels like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.
Just two months after they first met at Sheri's Ranch, the couple officially tied the knot in Addyson's new Arizona home.
'I'm still in awe of how quickly everything moved, but this man, everything he promised, he's done. He's kept his word on everything,' she said.
Jim bought Addyson a brand-new home in Arizona and a BMW after they got together
Jim's family has been supportive of their marriage so far, which is surprising given how conservative he is.
'He goes to church,' said Addyson. 'And he's also a veteran, so we have that in common.'
She continued, 'His family has been supportive. He has two older sons and both are very supportive. I've met one of the sons because he lives in Missouri. At the end of the day, they just want their father to be happy.'
One thing that's keeping a smile on their dad's face is his sex life, with Addyson admitting that she's shown the retired family man a whole new world of physical pleasure.
'One of the other things he likes about me is that I'm so open. He's never been with someone that's so sexually open,' she said.
'He's learning a lot from me. He's really learning to enjoy himself sexually. He's allowed himself to feel a sexual freedom.'
Despite quitting escorting, Addyson is still working as an adult performer and insists that it hasn't caused any issues in her marriage.
'One of the things that attracted me most to Jim was that he didn't ask me to quit porn,' she said.
'Could I quit tomorrow? Sure. Would I have to worry about anything? No. But I actually love my job very much,' she continued.
'I'm 46 and I'm too young to be retired. I've got to do something with my time and I love what I do.'
Addyson also considers herself to be in a monogamous marriage, despite the fact that she's still sleeping with other men as part of her job.
'He wants to make me happy and he's willing to do just about anything to make me happy,' she said, before adding, 'He knows how much I love my work and he doesn't want to take that from me.'
When it comes to 'haters' who may label Addyson a gold digger, she says, 'Don't be angry that you can't have this too'
With her fame as an adult star, Addyson now hopes that she can use her platform to raise awareness around veterans and mental health so others don't have to struggle like she did.
'If we're building these big, beautiful VA hospitals, let's fill them up with amazing medical staff and people who want to work and be there,' she said.
'So many people's healthcare gets pushed back because of a lack of staff,' she continued.
'I think there could be a great incentive for people coming out of college and out of med school, like, if you do so many years at the VA [Veterans Affairs] hospital, then some of your loan is paid off.'
And as for the critics who may call her a 'gold digger' over her controversial marriage, Addyson doesn't mince words.
'Don't be angry that you can't have this too.
'There's definitely haters out there, but with my close friends and family, there's no negativity. Everyone is happy for me. He's the love of my life.'
