Margo's Got Money Troubles

Margo’s Got Money Troubles (2024) is a novel by the American writer Rufi Thorpe. The story follows 19-year-old Margo Millet, who becomes pregnant after an affair with her college professor. She is desperate for a way to make money after the baby is born, and she stumbles upon OnlyFans as a way to support herself. With guidance from her father, who used to be a professional wrestler, Margo builds an online persona and finds success on the platform. However, Margo’s newfound fame sets off a chain of unexpected challenges, including a rift in her relationship with her mother and a custody battle with her ex. The novel explores patriarchal standards of morality, dual identities on digital platforms, and the challenges of single motherhood.

Margo’s Got Money Troubles is Rufi Thorpe’s fourth novel. Her debut novel, The Girls from Corona Del Mar (2014), was longlisted for the 2014 International Dylan Thomas Prize and the 2014 Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize. Her third novel, The Knockout Queen (2020), was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.

This guide is based on the 2024 HarperCollins Kindle Edition.

Content Warning: The source text depicts drug use and addiction. It mentions sexual assault and contains offensive and derogatory language surrounding sex work.

Plot Summary

Margo Millet, a 19-year-old college student, has an affair with her professor, Mark. Soon after, she discovers that she is pregnant. Margo’s mother, Shyanne, who is a single mother herself, encourages her to terminate the pregnancy, which is also what Mark wants her to do. However, Margo chooses to keep the baby, and when she tells Mark this, he cuts off all contact. When the baby is born, Margo names him Bodhi and brings him home to the apartment she shares with three roommates.

Margo struggles with caring for a newborn alone. Shyanne refuses to help, and Margo loses her waitressing job because she cannot find reliable childcare. Two of her roommates move out because they dislike the disruption the baby has brought to the apartment, and this leaves Margo financially desperate. She reaches out to her father, Jinx, who used to be a professional wrestler before a back injury ended his career. When Jinx doesn’t respond, Margo asks Mark for help. His mother offers Margo $15,000 and a trust fund for Bodhi in exchange for Margo signing an NDA and never contacting Mark ever again.

Soon after, Jinx turns up at Margo’s apartment, saying he has just received her voicemails since he was previously in rehab for heroin addiction. He offers to move into the apartment with Margo and her only remaining roommate, Suzie. Jinx takes to Bodhi instantly, and Margo allows him to stay after consulting with Suzie. However, she asserts that Jinx will need to stay clean around Bodhi, and he agrees.

When watching wrestling together, Jinx mentions how one of the wrestlers on TV now posts regularly on OnlyFans, which is a digital platform for adult content; he says she earns a substantial amount from it. Intrigued, Margo creates an OnlyFans account for herself and explores the website. She puts up explicit pictures of herself and offers written reviews about men’s penises in exchange for money, and she is stunned at how quickly and easily the money comes in. She tells Jinx about this, and while he initially balks at it, he eventually comes around and offers his love and support. With Jinx’s insights from his professional wrestling experience, Margo begins to craft a specific persona for the platform. She also works with other OnlyFans creators to establish herself on the platform. Simultaneously, Margo begins communicating regularly with a fan named JB who offers her money to answer questions about her life. Margo begins to enjoy these conversations, and she even answers some of his questions truthfully, although she never discloses her real name.

Soon after, Mark sends a motion to file for custody of Bodhi. Jinx, who has also received a restraining order from Mark, reveals that he called Mark and threatened him over the phone; he says he was angry about the obvious abuse of power and lack of responsibility on Mark’s part in his affair with Margo. During the mediation process, Margo discovers that Mark is especially concerned about her fitness as a mother owing to her age and OnlyFans work. She agrees to do a psychological evaluation on the condition that if she passes, Mark will allow her to retain custody of Bodhi while he will only seek visitation rights.

Margo makes a series of TikTok videos with two other OnlyFans creators; these go viral and bring in a substantial sum of money. As Margo’s popularity grows, Jinx encourages her to tell Shyanne what she is doing. Shyanne is in the midst of planning her wedding to her partner, Kenny, who is extremely conservative and religious. She is horrified when Margo tells her about creating content for OnlyFans, and she orders her to stop. Margo promises to do so, although she secretly plans on quitting only after a few months. However, some of Margo’s high school friends discover her on OnlyFans and out her to the world, posting explicit pictures from her account all across her personal social media pages. Shyanne cuts Margo off and rescinds Margo’s invitation to her wedding.

JB, who has developed real feelings for Margo, is hurt that Margo lied to him about her name. However, she explains her reasons for protecting herself, and JB comes around; the two plan for him to visit her soon. Margo feels liberated after the doxing since she no longer has to hide her work from the world. She continues with her OnlyFans work, and she even feels good about her interview with Dr. Clare Sharp for the psychological evaluation. However, shortly after, Margo discovers that Jinx has relapsed and has been using again. Together, they decide to get him into a methadone treatment program.

JB arrives, and Margo spends her first night away from the baby with him. However, she is forced to rush back home the next morning when Jinx calls her in a panic about a surprise CPS visit: The official, Maribel, threatens to take Bodhi away if Margo doesn’t get home immediately. Maribel refuses to disclose who sent her, and she is suspicious of Margo and disapproving of Jinx’s history with addiction. She insists that he cannot stay around Bodhi, as per policy. Maribel demands urine samples from both Jinx and Margo and asserts that she will return soon.

A shaken Margo breaks things off with JB to focus on her current situation, and Jinx prepares to move out. Meanwhile, Dr. Sharp arrives for her scheduled home visit, which seems to go well. Margo visits Shyanne to apologize, and Margo tells her that she is considering giving up OnlyFans and pivoting to real estate. However, Margo is livid when she discovers that Kenny is the one who called CPS; Margo is angry and disappointed with Shyanne for going along with his plan, so she asks Shyanne to stay out of her life. That same day, she receives the report of Dr. Sharp’s evaluation, which asserts that Margo’s parenting approach and set up is optimal for Bodhi.

A reinvigorated Margo decides not to quit OnlyFans after all. She confronts Mark, who confesses that he has changed his mind after reading Dr. Sharp’s report and seeing the kind of content Margo puts out, which he praises for its creativity. With the help of her lawyer, Margo also manages to put a stop to the CPS investigation: During Maribel’s next visit, Margo threatens to press charges as Maribel entered their house under false pretenses the first time, pretending that she had the authority to take Bodhi away immediately.

JB comes back into town and meets Margo with a business proposal. While he agrees with her that they shouldn’t date at the moment, he also doesn’t want to waste the connection they obviously share. JB suggests they combine his machine learning background and her writing skills to start a company that helps content creators on OnlyFans grow their business, and a thrilled Margo accepts right away. The novel concludes with Margo and JB shooting ideas back and forth, and Margo contemplates how all art is ultimately about its creator trying to get an audience to fall in love with them.