"Sometimes love isn't enough." Samantha X's very real words following her breakup.

Samantha X (real name Amanda Goff) is known as an outspoken advocate for the rights of women in the sex worker industry.

She herself was Australia’s highest paid escort until she left the business at the end of last year.

Her reason for leaving, she said in October, was love.

She had fallen in love with Channel Seven reporter Ryan Phelan, and she told the Daily Mail: “The love we have deserves Amanda, not Samantha”.

But now, her relationship with Phelan has ended and she’s shared some very real – very heartbreaking – words in farewell.

“The love was very deep between us, but sometimes love isn’t enough,” the 42-year-old confirmed to Daily Mail on Tuesday. “Ryan and I have decided to end our relationship.”

A post shared by Samantha X® (@samanthaxreal) on May 31, 2017 at 11:42pm PDT

She said she is not planning to return to sex work, and instead she is hoping to help women in other ways.

“I will continue to study my masters in Counselling and Psychotherapy and will continue to help and support other women.”

There is no doubt she will succeed.

LISTEN: Why do we care so much about Samantha X’s (albeit short) relationship? The Mamamia Out Loud team discuss. 

Samantha X – or Amanda – has helped many women learn about their own sexuality, as well as their boundaries, when it comes to experimentation. (She, for example, never agreed to have anal sex with clients).

While running her own escort agency, she taught self defence to the women who worked with her and advised them to trust their instincts when it comes to keeping safe.

She has a history of fighting for the rights of sex workers who are too often exploited: “The four words I live by are ‘my body, my choice’. That’s what I tell my girls: Only you have the right to tell or show someone what they can and can’t do with you body,” she told Mamamia last year.

And, finally, by being a spokesperson for an industry that’s typically shrouded in stigma, Samantha X has gone a long way in helping people understand the woman behind the job. That there are reasons, desires, nuances, and dangers in sex work that can too easily be overlooked.

Listen to Mia Freedman’s interview with Samantha X, below. 

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