Exclusive: 'Hardcore porn popped up when I was 8 - it wrecked my childhood'
Following TV presenter Ore Oduba's shocking admission of a 30-year addiction to pornography that began when he was just nine years old, a new poll reveals he is far from alone. The survey from the Children’s Commissioner shows a disturbing 70% of respondents had seen porn before turning 18, a significant increase from 64% in 2023.
Now, 21-year-old actor Amelia Delgado from South Woodford, East London, is bravely sharing her own devastating story of how childhood exposure to explicit content shaped her life in profoundly negative ways.
The Accidental Exposure That Changed Everything
Amelia was only eight years old when she first encountered hardcore pornography. "I'd been given a laptop to help with my homework and when looking for a film on a pirate website, clicked on a pop-up for lesbian porn," she recalls.
That single click sparked a daily habit that would dominate her childhood. "I watched it a lot, including the really hardcore stuff," Amelia admits. The experience felt both exciting and confusing for the young girl, who didn't understand the content was inappropriate until months later when she mentioned it to her sister, who then told their parents.
Lasting Impact on Body Image and Intimacy
The damage from her early exposure became increasingly apparent as Amelia entered her teenage years. At age 13, a boyfriend showed her pornography again, this time specifically "deflowering" videos depicting women losing their virginity, which he claimed would help her understand the pain she would experience.
This had a devastating impact on both her body image and understanding of healthy intimacy. "I struggled with my weight and would think, 'why don't I look like the girls I saw [in the pornographic films]?'" she says. Amelia developed intense insecurities about the size and shape of her breasts and intimate parts, regrets about having sex too young, and a performance-based view of sexual relationships.
The consequences escalated when, at just 15 years old, Amelia fell pregnant. "Like any parents, they were cautious of my behaviour and who I chose to be with," she says of her family's reaction. Thankfully, she felt comfortable enough to confide in her mother, and with her family's support, made the difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy.
Finding Healing and a Call for Change
Amelia's life began to transform in 2022 when she met her current boyfriend, Connor, a 23-year-old children's sports coach, on TikTok. "My relationship with my current partner has been really healing," she explains. "With previous partners, sex was something you just 'had' to do. But in my relationship now, it's something we do because we love each other."
Her sexual behaviour has changed dramatically - she no longer insists on the lights being off during intimacy and has stopped mimicking the exaggerated performances she saw in pornography. While she now believes porn can be a healthy tool within an adult relationship, she emphasises that no child should be exposed to it.
Emma Motherwell of the NSPCC advises parents to look for unexplained behavioural changes in children, while Cat Etherington from Naked Truth warns that early exposure can lead to hypersexualised behaviour, anxiety, and unrealistic expectations about bodies and intimacy.
Amelia is now speaking out as part of LADbible's For F**k's Sake campaign, hoping to encourage more women to join conversations about pornography. "I'm speaking out for women everywhere," she says. "Often it's only men who talk about porn and sex. Women don't feel brave enough to talk about it - that needs to change."
