Belle De Jour Finally Unmasked

She's been writing about her sexual experiences as a London call girl through blogs and novels for years. But who is she? Fans and followers have known her exclusively as Belle de Jour.

Until now.

Who would have expected a research scientist behind the name...behind the stories? Expected or not, Dr. Brooke Magnanti publicly admitted yesterday to being the face behind the infamous anonymous blog. Magnanti spoke with The Sunday Times out of fear that an ex-boyfriend would spill the goods (no pun intended) first.

Dr. Magnanti, 34, was working towards her PhD when, six years ago, she ran into financial problems. She turned towards prostitution and found herself raking in $500 an hour. Making the best out of the situation, she began to write about her experiences on her blog, Belle de Jour.

So how does it feel to have her identity finally revealed?

"So a perfect storm of feelings and circumstances drew me out of hiding," her last blog post entry starts. "And do you know what? It feels so much better on this side. Not to have to tell lies, hide things from the people I care about. To be able to defend what my experience of sex work is like to all the skeptics and doubters."

Magnanti currently works at Bristol Initiative for Research of Child Health.