The Sopranos' Drea de Matteo, 52, reveals she paid off her ...

SOPRANOS' star DREA de Matteo has revealed she was able to pay off her mortgage just five minutes after joining OnlyFans.

The actress received a mixed reaction when she signed up to OnlyFans in August last year - but Drea insists she has no regrets.

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After falling into financial difficulty and coming close to losing her family home, Drea - who shot to fame as Adriana La Cerva in The Sopranos - started selling steamy snaps to fans.

She said: "It saved us. OnlyFans saved my life, 100 per cent. I can't believe I'm saying that, but it really did save us."

Mother-of-two Drea shares daughter Alabama and son Waylon with ex-fiancé Shooter Jennings.

Admitting she had just £9 in her bank account when she made the decision to sign up for OnlyFans, Drea, who also starred as Angie Bolen in Desperate Housewives, said: "They put me into foreclosure and my house had flooded, so I was trying to sell the house quickly.

"I wanted to try and sell it before they took it."

And after posting her first snaps on OnlyFans, Drea was floored by how quickly the money started coming in.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, she continued: "I was like, holy s***. In five minutes, I was able to pay back compass real estate who kept the sale of my house."

Drea previously opened up about struggling with her weight after her two pregnancies.

She told the Chicago Sun Times: "I played a stripper at about 198 pounds right after I had the baby. By the way, I gained 60 pounds with my son and 80 with my daughter.

"Again, I said, ‘Hell no, I’m not going to work now.’ But then I changed my mind and, again, wanted everyone to see a normal size.”

But now she insists OnlyFans has helped her accept her body.

She said: "For the most part like I look good, and the best part about it is I get to be heavier.

"I don't look good in the pictures if I'm skinny. Before photo shoots, I get to eat and eat. I get to bulk up to look better."

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