Bondi Vet star Dr Kate Adams says mortgage broker mistook her for an OnlyFans worker, highlighting gender bias in lending

Dr Kate Adams, owner of Bondi Vet Hospital and a star on The Real Housewives of Sydney, says a mortgage broker mischaracterized her earnings and tried to block a multi-million-dollar home loan by suggesting banks would not count income earned from OnlyFans. Adams told Daily Mail the broker informed her the bank would not loan to a woman who sells explicit content online, and that the income would not be counted. "Without even asking my name, he just heard I wanted $3.5 million and that's where his mind went," she said. "The bank will not loan any money to any woman who takes her clothes off on the internet." Adams described feeling stunned, noting she is a doctor who trained for seven years and runs a self-made business, not an OnlyFans creator.

Adams had already put down a large deposit on the property and was seeking finance for the remainder. After cold-calling the broker, who had been recommended by a friend, the conversation began with a large figure. Then the broker cut to the chase: "before we go down this path, I need to tell you that the bank will not consider income that is made from OnlyFans." Adams said, "The subconscious misogyny is at an all-time f***ing high at this point." She said the broker assumed she was on OnlyFans.

Adams later revealed her true identity and told the broker, "Isn't it lucky that I'm not on OnlyFans? I'm sorry, I don't think I introduced myself. I'm Dr Kate Adams." She recalled feeling victorious in that moment: "I had a lot of joy in that moment. He s*** himself and rightly so." Adams used the episode to question the broader industry, asking what would happen to someone who is not publicly known or who earns money through legitimate means outside of traditional employment. "There are plenty of women out there with great jobs who are not earning money on OnlyFans and didn't only get their money from the one place that apparently men think we can get money. And what is wrong with OnlyFans anyway? Money's money."

Adams has long described banks as tending to invalidate industries where women work, arguing that the financial system is biased in ways that limit women’s financial independence. She said the system often relies on brokers to withhold funding, and cited studies suggesting gender bias in lending. "The bank could argue that, you know what, this whole women taking their clothes off thing, it's an unreliable industry," she said. "But in reality it's the oldest industry in the world and women are still judged for doing it but men are not judged for funding it. The system is set up so men do not have to explain themselves. And all the data and all of the studies that have been done on this support this."

Grace Bowe, a mortgage broker with Coastal Home Loans, told Daily Mail she was not surprised by Adams' experience and described the broker as emblematic of a broader problem in a male-dominated industry. "That other broker sounds like a totally obnoxious d*** and is such a part of the problem with the broking industry being so male dominated," Bowe said. She added that while some banks may have restrictions on certain industries, it is a broker’s role to navigate those rules and make a compelling case for clients. "At the end of the day, OnlyFans income is self-employed income. For it to count, it needs to be on their tax return but some banks would have a problem with the industry code. The OnlyFans industry code would be adult entertainment, in which case some banks will have a problem with it, but definitely not all banks."

In a public post, Adams has described the incident as part of a broader conversation about gender bias in finance. She has also shared glimpses of her successful business and property ventures, underscoring that women can pursue high-level entrepreneurial work and still face barriers within lending systems. The exchange adds to ongoing discussions about how banks classify income earned from non-traditional avenues and how lenders and brokers address potential biases in underwriting. The episode is likely to renew attention on how culture and entertainment figures navigate financial questions in a public-facing profile, particularly when their professional identities intersect with media visibility.