An ex-university chancellor who was fired for posting adult content with his wife online has furiously defended his right to make explicit videos.
Horrified officials at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse terminated Chancellor Joe Gow after discovering his X-rated content with wife Carmen Wilson, 56, under the name Sexy Happy Couple.
The revelation tore the 63-year-old's personal and professional life apart. Not only was he accused of 'unethical and potentially illegal' behavior by his former workplace, but his name was plastered across national headlines, and he was forced into 'challenging' conversations with his family.
And yet, in the months that followed, the couple - who are both vegan - have garnered a loyal following of fans hungry for their content, which includes videos of them cooking plant-based meals with porn stars.
Now, as Gow fights for his right to retain a tenured position at the university, the pair has opened up to DailyMail.com about spending $80,000 on their 'hobby', their surprise at finding viral fame and how their only regret is not speaking to their relatives first.
University of Wisconsin -La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow, 63. was terminated by the board of regents after discovering he posts X-rated videos with his wife Carmen Wilson, 56, under the name Sexy Happy Couple
The UW system seeks his removal once more, this time from his tenured faculty position. They are pictured with a porn star in an image uploaded to their X account
On paper, Gow was the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's most successful chancellor.
He oversaw 10,700 students and 1,450 faculty and staff, managed an annual budget of $95 million, and - crucially - he kept enrollment numbers high when admissions to colleges nationwide were falling.
But last December, his life was turned upside down when an anonymous source forwarded adult videos he had made with Wilson to the president of the UW system.
Gow and Wilson - who retired from her own career in academia before the scandal - claim to have sex around six nights a week and create videos with titles such as 'Juicy Anniversary' and 'Bedroom Shenanigans.'
The couple often hire a 'third' person for their sex scenes - usually an escort whom they interview at length first.
The couple say they didn't expect was the virality of their videos, nor did it even occur to them that posting their videos on a public adult content website could gain so much attention
The couple had adult film star Tyler Nixon (right) as a recent guest. The board of regents called Gow's actions 'abhorrent'
Initially, the couple - who had both been in traditional marriages before for more than two decades - filmed themselves having sex for their own private consumption.
But in May 2023, Gow announced plans to retire from his role as Chancellor, telling his students he wished to concentrate on his 'YouTube cooking show' with his wife. He intended to continue in the role until the end of the Spring 2024 term.
The decision emboldened the pair to start posting their content onto paywalled websites such as OnlyFans and LoyalFans. Then, Gow's video editor suggested they move to free forums to find a larger audience.
Within a matter of weeks, he was fired as chancellor. The termination letter said he had failed to report his income from the content and had violated the university's ban on 'using one's public position for private benefit.' Officials labeled his actions 'abhorrent.'
Now, they are attempting to fire him again as a tenured professor in communications.
It is notoriously difficult to have tenured academics fired and requires just cause such as sexual assault, domestic violence and sexual harassment.
'Tenure exists so that faculty can challenge social mores and raise questions and do things that are controversial and oftentimes unpopular,' claims Gow.
After three weeks of deliberations guided by a UW System attorney, the hearing committee moved to escalate Gow's case to the Board of Regents.
Now he is furiously fighting back as he insists it is his First Amendment right to publish X-rated content online.
'We're in this for the long run, and we look forward to a public hearing,' said Gow. 'It really is kind of suffocating at some level to just not be able to be who you are'.
'We put out some videos on Only Fans and Loyal Fans in November of last year, and no one cared. It got like three people who might have watched our videos,' he added.
At one point, Gow and Wilson were the number two content creators online
The couple has accepted their role as sexual freedom fighters, and come at the topic of sex positivity from an educational perspective
The decision to upload their content to public porn websites - and Gow's subsequent sacking - transformed the couple into overnight celebrities.
Within 24 hours, one clip amassed 10,000 views. The day after, it reached 100,000.
The pair briefly catapulted to the number two OnlyFans creators in North America while a local brewery in Wisconsin created a 'Hot for Chancellor' fruited sour beer. Some 186 cases sold out in 40 minutes.
A group of students also flew a flag with an image of Gow performing oral sex on Wilson.
They have since removed videos from free platforms and instead charge between $7.99 to $9.99 a month for their OnlyFans content. In all, they estimate they have made $77,000 in total - but have spent $80,000 making the videos.
Gow said: 'We were really surprised by [our popularity] because this is just two middle-aged people having sex - and it's nothing violent or bondage or anything that's that unusual.'
He added some fans have described their videos as 'wholesome.'
They admitted that they realized their content was not going to be received well by fellow academics but did not expect to gain so much attention.
'I mean it's not like we put it on a billboard in Times Square,' said Wilson
Although, that might have been more discreet considering around 330,000 visitors pass through Times Square each day compared to the 81 million who visit PornHub.
Gow said while he figured his chancellor position would be revoked, never did he anticipate that he would actually fire him from a tenured faculty position - especially at a public school. 'That's why tenure exists so that faculty can challenge social mores and raise questions and do things that are controversial and oftentimes unpopular,' said Gow.
While they don't regret their decision to go public, they do regret the impact their content has had on their family
But why now? Why would two highly accomplished and esteemed middle-aged academics risk it all for the sake of sexual freedom? And so late in life?
The couple explained that it wasn't until they met each other that they felt they could be open about their desire for a non traditional relationship.
Gow told DailyMail.com: 'I'm not getting any younger,' Gow said. 'I'm going to turn 64 in October, and you know she makes me feel like I'm in my 20s.'
'I didn't know it could be this good,' he added.
Their entry into the adult entertainment industry began with a chance encounter at a conference.
While attending a Higher Learning Commission event in Chicago, they hired a male entertainer for a private performance in their hotel room.
After the performance the entertainer agreed to participate in a further encounter with Wilson, which Gow filmed.
It was these interactions with sex workers that sparked the idea to host a vegan cooking show with porn stars in a bid to 'unobjectify' escorts.
'It's about helping people understand that these folks are just like everybody else,' Gow said.
They insist they don't regret their decision to go public, but they do regret how it impacted their families.
Wilson is a grandmother and only recently back on speaking terms with her own mom and her daughter.
She told DailyMail.com: 'I'm not surprised that it was shocking and that it was hard for them. My mom in particular, you know, she's going to be 83 years old this month.
However, Wilson admitted that her grandmother 'started to learn how other people were viewing this as sex positive.'
'The most common phrase out of her mouth is, "I had no idea." And honestly, my mom and I have talked about sex more in the last six months than we did in my entire life.'
On paper, Gow was UW LaCrosse's most successful chancellor. He oversaw 10,700 students and 1,450 faculty and staff, managing an annual budget of $95 million
In 2018, Gow was denied a pay raise after he was in hot water for paying porn star Nina Hartley (pictured) $5,000 to speak on campus
Wilson added: 'If I were to do something differently, I would have contacted her prior to posting stuff online to have the conversation. I think that would have helped the shock factor.'
But Gow argues the controversy is necessary to question the status quo and start the conversation around sexual freedom.
Prior to his high-profile sacking, the Chancellor's sexual positivity had got him into trouble once before with the university.
He had brought Nina Hartley, a 64-year-old renowned porn star, to campus for a talk called Fantasy vs. Reality: Viewing Adult Media with a Critical Eye.
UW La Crosse school had a course designed for education majors who want to teach sex education called Sexual Health Promotion, and in the time prior to Nina Hartley coming.
But the university faculty fell into an uproar. Gow insists Hartley's appearance wouldn't have been 'a big deal' had it not been for the media circus around it.
Today, the couple embrace their role as sexual freedom fighters and feel intent on breaking the taboo around intimacy.
Wilson said: 'I didn't feel shame about sex and sexuality, and I would hope that we could bring that to young people, and including at some point our granddaughter.'
She takes a self-aware pause being adding: 'You know, when she's older, I'm not just going to spring it on her.
'If we can play some small role in changing the culture and conversation around sex so that my granddaughters grow up in a much more sex positive society, I think that's fantastic.'
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