Identical twins earning six-figure sums by stripping off online have revealed they worried their single mum would disapprove of their careers – but she's become their biggest supporter and even snaps some of their photos.
From timid upbringing to online fame
Julia and Lauren Burch, born just five minutes apart, were brought up by their single mother in Canada with their older brother and were home-educated throughout their youth. Despite describing themselves as extremely timid while growing up, the sisters now collaborate creating content from Los Angeles, where they rely on one another in an industry they describe as "full of fakes".
Yet they say their greatest source of support has always been their mum, who has endorsed every career decision they've made - from modelling to launching their adult career.
Mum's support is crucial
Julia, who boasts 2 million followers on Instagram @juliaaburch, said it's heartbreaking for girls who lack that support and bond with their parents. "I have a few friends who have experienced not having the support from their mother and it seems like it would be so difficult," she said. "It would be hard to really have fun with what I do if my mum wasn't supportive. It would make my day to day a little sadder."
Lauren, who has 1.9 million followers on Instagram @laurenxburch, said their 46-year-old mum brought up the twins and their older brother single-handedly while home-schooling all three children. Julia added: "I honestly don't know how she did it all. She has always been so supportive even at the beginning when she knew I wanted to go into modelling."
Overcoming height barriers
Despite Julia's aspirations to follow in the footsteps of Bella Hadid, the 5ft 3 content creator reveals she was constantly told she was "too short" for the modelling world. Rather than giving up, she started building her presence online - with her mum backing her from the very start.
"I started posting more on social media where my mum follows me and she was so encouraging, complimenting all my photos. She even takes some or does some filming and knows all the best angles."
No secrets from mum
As their digital careers flourished, the siblings eventually joined an adult site - something Lauren reveals she never felt compelled to conceal from her mum. "A lot of people hide it from their family and friends, which I totally understand. I definitely hid it from my friends when I first started, but never from my mum, but I never felt like I had to hide it from her.
"I was really scared that friends were going to judge me. I literally blocked all my friends and anyone from my city from viewing my stories to try and stay hidden." However, she explains her worries quickly vanished. "Obviously people found me and no one cared. In fact, friends thought it was cool and everyone was really sweet."
A cool mum
The twins credit their mum as the source of their inner confidence, and she's quite comfortable being in front of the camera herself. Lauren said: "She has been in some of our TikToks and loves it, and she's been on my YouTube giving her thoughts on the strange DMs I've received. She has the mindset of as long as we're happy and living our best lives, then she'll support it. We're very lucky, she's a really cool mum."
