YouTuber, 22, who quit school over bullies dating Busted star & so successful she turns down £7K for a minute’s work
A YOUTUBER has revealed how she is now so successful that she is in a position to turn down £7,000 for just a minute’s work.
Emily Canham, 22, has racked up over a million fans on the platform thanks to her fashion and beauty tips - and has even bagged herself a boyfriend from Busted, James Bourne.
But while she is enjoying online fame and lucrative deals now, she revealed that she quit school five years ago before A-levels due to cruel bullies.
To avoid feeling alone, she started uploading videos on YouTube and said her mental health has dramatically improved ever since.
Speaking to the , she said: “I love being in front of the camera, I love presenting. I’m going to be on YouTube for the rest of my life, regardless of what I do next, YouTube will be my forever thing."
Now the school-drop out enjoys red carpet events, jetting around the world on luxury holiday she has bought for her family, and has even brushed shoulders with Prince Charles through work.
Three years ago, Emily was made a L’Oreal make-up ambassador and has hit a million subscribers online.
She said: “I was bullied when I was younger, then at secondary school there was cattiness and bitchiness - and because I didn’t want to be involved, I was isolated. That’s why I removed myself from the situation.”
Emily ended up studying for her A-levels at home, and it took her six months of making videos before she had the courage to upload to YouTube.
By January 2015, Emily was vlogging full-time and living in London, with her parents saying they would pay for six months on her rent and then she would have to fund herself.
It took her two years to make money from YouTube and she bought and sold items online to pay her way until this point.
Her first £60 was from advertising and she was baffled that something that brought her so much joy could be a money-maker too.
She now makes her income through sponsored posts, affiliate links and brand mentions but recently turned down £7,000 for a one-minute brand inclusion in a YouTube video.
Her agent handles all the financial side of her business and Emily admits she has no idea what her annual earnings are.
She even met Prince Charles in a “pinch me” moment as part of the Prince’s Trust work she does with L’Oreal.
Having online fame and millions of fans has had its drawbacks though, with Emily going through a very public break-up with YouTuber Jake Boys in February 2017.
The pair split after three years when Emily found he had been “talking to lots of other women.”
Now she is happily dating 36-year-old James from Busted, and they’ve been together for over a year after being introduced through his brother.
They were pals for a year before dating, and wanted to take things slow due to their 14-year age gap.
She said: “I was like well I don’t know what this is, there is a large age gap between us, I wanted to know his intentions before absolutely anything so, it was a friendship for quite a while before anything turned into anything.”
The couple are often apart with their busy careers, with James having a house in LA and Emily living in London.
However, she said they like to keep things spontaneous, and she recently surprised him at his US pad out of the blue when they hadn’t seen each other in a month.
Emily now hopes to progress her career and even build a profile in LA - but says she’s never been in a better place mentally.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
We shared how a woman, 22, quit her job to film gut-busting McDonald’s and Pizza Hut eating challenges in bid to become YouTube star.