Just three days after the publication of my book, my true identity has now been publicized in a national newspaper exposé.

I guess I was lulled into a false sense of security regarding my anonymity because I knew that Belle de Jour was hounded by the press, and still managed to keep her identity private. Whilst I may have a high-traffic blog, and a book detailing my sexual adventures in the shops, I’m not a prostitute like her, so why, I figured, would anyone really be interested in whom I am?

But of course people are; the subject matter that I write about creates intrigue; people want to know who the woman behind the explicit tales really is. And now, they have managed to find out.

For the last three days, a journalist has been pursuing me. They have invaded my privacy, violated my boundaries, and subjected me to constant harassment on my personal telephone number. They have also accosted me on my own doorstep in order to take a secret photograph (I had just woken up from a nap, and looked rough, of course); the photographer hid in my front garden in order to get the shot.

I have no wish to give this newspaper extra publicity, so I won’t be linking to them, but I do want to state for the record that I had nothing to do with this article, and that none of the information in it, came from me. I also want to ask the people who have read it, not to take it at face value: it’s a ‘story’, written by a journalist, and in which I had no input. And the outcome is that my life is no longer a private matter.

Knowing that the news has broken today – regardless of my wishing to remain anonymous – has meant I have now been forced to tell my family and friends my situation. They now all know about the blog and book and are aware of the explicit content of each. To my immense relief, they’ve all been wonderfully supportive whilst I’ve been hiding away from the press and trying to maintain some order in my life.

With my real identity now being thrust into the spotlight and with the inevitable onslaught of further media interest into my life, I might not be able to post on the blog at the moment. I do hope to be able to continue to voice my thoughts – in whatever way I can – on here soon. So watch this space.

Thanks for your understanding and support,
Abby