EXCLUSIVE: Italian model Paola Saulino who famously claimed she had an explosive affair with a former Premier League star says she was doing Bonnie Blue’s antics 10 years earlier
An Italian model who famously claimed she had an affair with a former Chelsea footballer has stated she was the original Bonnie Blue.
Paola Saulino gained fame during the 2016 Italian referendum when then prime minister, Matteo Renzi, offered to resign if his major reforms were not approved.
His opponents, including Paola, felt the reforms would give him too much power, and 19 million people rejected them. However, before the historic vote, Paola grabbed headlines by promising to give anyone who voted ‘No’ sexual favours, and she stuck to her word.
The model, similar to Bonnie’s challenge of sleeping with 1,000 men, ended up meeting hundreds of her fans in person. However, at the time, OnlyFans had only been launched, and it wasn’t the platform it is today.
And reflecting on her tour a decade later, Paola told the Daily Star: “The biggest regret was the timing because 10 years ago was another world. Now girls are much more secure and it seems that everyone does controversial things whereas 10 years ago I was alone. I was scared to promote more of myself and use my initiative.”
Paola added that she was “mistreated” at the time and that the “world wasn’t ready” for the type of provocation she unleashed.
She believes it is now a “trend” and “business model” because of UK creators like Bonnie and Lily Phillips.
And asked how much money she may have made if the tour happened this year, she replied: “Today I could have earned around a million dollars a month. It would have generated a lot of curiosity.
“My name circulated a lot and people would have subscribed to my account. I lost something like a million a month as my story went around, yet I didn’t really believe it. Believe me when I tell you, I turned down many interviews and a lot of media attention. At a certain point, I panicked and even withdrew some requests from French television. Canal+ was ready to do a special on me but at a certain point I no longer responded.
“Now, Bonnie Blue and the like seem organised, supported and structured. I was alone against the world, and when every now and then a manager was offered, I understood that they were vultures and only wanted to make money.”
She decided to handle the tour, the social media popularity and the media all by herself, despite admitting that it all got far too big for her.
However, she added: “The fact remains that Bonnie Blue and her colleagues came after me, after 10 years. I was the first in the world.”
Despite crediting Bonnie with turning her exploits into a multi-million pound business, Paola believes her motivations were financial and designed for attention, something she described as superficial.
She said her own sex tour in 2016 was driven by political ideals and she was combining politics, art and provocation for a social experiment. At the time she felt like a “revolutionary” who wanted to prove that an attractive woman could actually tip the balance of power in a country.
And asked if she would do something similar today, she said that it would be a “regression” for her as a person and for her career, despite being on subscription sites.
She also said she would not be equipped to handle the negative response to her actions.
Paola concluded: “I could never let a paedophilia related criticism slide for example. I mean, I know that Bonnie Blue uses 18-year-olds for her videos and that is considered a bit predatory.
“From my point of view, this thing would kill my nervous system. Instead, this girl really doesn’t seem to care at all.”