Like many little girls, Emily Alexandra Guglielmo used to dream about being a mermaid. Now aged 32, she has made her dreams come true - earning $8,000 (£7,000) a month by dressing up as a real life version of Disney's Ariel.
Emily, who lives in Florida, gets hired for children's parties, as well as five-star events, and spends her days in swimming pools posting videos and photos to her army of followers on Instagram and TikTok. However, the model admits there is a sexier side to her profession too - as she revealed she gets contacted on OnlyFans by men who ask her to pose topless in her tail for them.
"Being a mermaid is extremely special as I get to make dreams come true for little ones," she said. "They truly believe that I'm a real mermaid just like they believe in Santa Claus.
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"I feel that I have always been a mermaid ever since I was a little girl when I'd go to the beach every weekend and swim in the sea. It's been instilled in me.
"I decided to get a mermaid tail when I was 22 for photoshoots. I paid $3,400 (£2,976) and I didn’t realise how much of an attraction it would be and people started coming up to me asking to hire me for their events and parties.
"The tail can take me 15 minutes to take off - and I need to use lube to make it slippery enough."
Turning her childhood dream into a career, Emily gets booked for swimming pool shows and underwater displays and events across the US, under the name of 'The American Mermaid'.
Although she sometimes gets trolled online while men have asked her for illicit photos on her OnlyFans account, she says she doesn’t mind and shares some fun snaps.
Emily is in a relationship with her boyfriend but says he supports her career and he helps out behind the scenes. He also finds it sexy when men get in touch with her asking her to pose for saucy snaps and videos, she claims.
"I do get trolled sometimes but who doesn’t these days? I use it as fuel to motivate me even more," she said.
"My boyfriend is my mer-handler! He helps out behind the scenes and is very supportive of my mermaid career.
"I get some men that ask me to make them personalised videos of myself topless wearing just my tail on OnlyFans. But my boyfriend doesn’t mind. He likes when the men gawk over me. He thinks it's sexy.
"I don’t think there are other sexy sirens out there on OnlyFans - so it looks like I've got myself a niche!"
When Emily first started her mermaid career, in 2012, she did events alongside her job as a model and showgirl travelling the US dancing in shows in hotel resorts.
But it wasn't all mythical magic as Emily admits she got into bad drinking habits while on the road and sometimes would drink up to a litre of vodka a day.
Three years ago, she sought help from alcoholics anonymous and has been sober since.
She said: "During my 10 years being a professional feature dancer, I would travel the country and live for extensive periods by myself on the road.
"Throughout the years of being a showgirl, I accumulated the awful habit of drinking every night which became an addiction. I would consume a litre of vodka a day.
"Thankfully I was able to get into rehab and thank god for the accountability of AA, I've been able to maintain my sobriety and have not had a sip of alcohol since April 1, 2019."
Emily now picks up modelling and acting opportunities too - earning herself $8,000 (£7,000) a month in total.
She's filmed national product commercials, has been on Playboy TV and worked on huge Hollywood movies including Magic Mike and Spring Breakers.
Emily also had to master a dolphin kick, use a monofin (a piece of equipment), and learn equalisation to alleviate air pressure under water.
But she said being a mermaid isn't always graceful and it can take 15 minutes for her to put on one of her eight tails, which cost $1,000 (£875) a week to rent, and she has to use lubricant or coconut oil to get in and out of it.
Emily said: "The most ungraceful part of being a mermaid is getting the full silicone mermaid tail on.
"I need a lube that is water-based or coconut oil to slip it on. It takes a good 10 minutes to get my feet into the pockets of the monofin, then slide the rest of the tail up over my hips.
"When I do children’s parties, I make sure they do not see me getting into my tail so I can keep the magic.
"I actually spend so much time in the water as a full mermaid even when I am not working as I have always found it easier in water than on land.
"Funnily enough, recently, I sprained my ankles from hopping down from a truck. So I will definitely be swimming my way through the summer now.
"I wear my tail so often that one time, some sailors actually mistook me for a mythical sea creature. We laughed together after they realised I was in a mermaid costume."
However Emily's mermaid career was put on hold at the start of the year when her mum was diagnosed with a rare brain cancer.
Her mother moved in with her and Emily took her to treatment and chemotherapy every day.
Being a full-time caregiver hindered some projects and put a lot of her studies on the back burner, but her mother's tragic diagnosis brought their relationship closer.
Emily said: "I cannot recall a childhood memory that doesn't involve in some way splashing in the water or feeling the hot sand between my toes which is definitely why I have always had so much respect and love towards my family.
"That's why I never left my mother's side while she was dealing with a rare brain cancer regardless of how busy my occupation had become.
"It was very challenging as I had been completely booked up with ongoing acting and mermaid gigs at the same time, staying a strong support system for my mum.
"It's truly amazing how something so tragic allowed for her and I to really get closer and heal our relationship that was rocky at times in the past.
"It was a beautiful time in my life and I will never ever forget how the reconnection with my mother has shaped me into the independent business woman I am today.
"My mother succumbed to her illness in June 2022. She will always be my inspiration for me taking back the control in my life and continuing to make my dreams a lifestyle."
Emily says her mother shaped her into an independent businesswoman and she has now launched a mermaid-inspired cosmetics line Emily Alexandra Cosmetics, which donates a percentage of sales benefiting her non-profit Supporting Water that brings clean drinking water to emerging nations.
She added: "I work and partner up with many five-star resorts including Hilton and Marriott. I do monthly mermaid appearances all over the country at many different hotel resorts.
"I have kids parties all week every week and lots of corporate and private summer parties. I also simultaneously promote my cosmetic line and a portion of every purchase including a portion of every mermaid gig booked goes directly to supportingwater.org.
"I founded it in 2019 to find and raise money to bring drinking water to emerging nations in new and innovative ways."
Emily's main passion will forever lie in being a professional mermaid - she said it is the reason she is able to be financially free at such a young age.
This year her cosmetics line is sponsoring The Vegan Fashion Show and she has big goals for the future. In 10 years, she wants to be sponsoring events as big as the Olympics.
She has also expanded to doing mermaid shows outside the US.
She said: "Just like I learned from my mother, I will never stop fighting, and will continue to spread my commitment to the ocean through my company and successes as a mermaid.
"We only have one ocean, and just as my mum never stopped fighting through her illness, I will never stop swimming as a professional mermaid for as long as it takes to help cultivate a healthier environment for creatures both on and off land."
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