WHEN Georgia Louise Davies quit her job as a solicitor to take pictures of her outfits for Instagram, her friends and family feared she was throwing a career away.
Now five years later, the 31-year-old fashion influencer has built a multi-million pound business empire from her home in Wales – with 1.7 million followers hanging off her every word.
But underneath the glossy social media feed of designer handbags and chic outfits, Georgia tearfully reveals how she was once drowning in debt with bailiffs knocking on her mum’s door.
Georgia, who grew up in Brighton, studied law at the prestigious City University of London but had racked up thousands on her credit card.
Of her childhood, she said: “My dad was very successful. He was self-made.
“We always kind of had a certain lifestyle, I guess, growing up.
“Then we lost everything when I was very young because he was an alcoholic.”
Georgia, who grew up with her older sister, continued: “Everything was always OK when I was younger, you know what I mean? Like financially, everything was always sorted.
“Then it was ripped away from me and, although my mum worked hard to provide for us, I don’t think I ever really caught up with that.”
Georgia said: “My dad passed away when I was 15.
“It was just the most tragic way. He had a heart attack on Brighton Beach and it was just awful.
“I am now incredibly close with my stepdad Mac but it never started like that.
“I didn’t want anyone replacing my dad and I remember crying on my mum and stepdad’s wedding day, thinking: ‘Oh god. I hate this man so much.’
“Now we are best friends and he is just incredible.
“My dad worked in marketing so in a funny way I’m like the modern day version of him.”
Georgia said: “No one ever taught me about money, because we never had to worry about it until we did.
“So when I had my student finance come in, I would just blow it all, do you know what I mean?
“I had no idea that I had to budget that. How do you budget money? You’re not taught these things.
“You’re just given your student finance and you don’t realise that’s actually got to spread over the next three or four months.
“I had no idea about that. So what should I do? I went and got a white Mercedes-Benz C-Class on finance.
“I thought: ‘That’s what I’m going to spend it on.’ I put a deposit down for a car that I didn’t even own.
“It was just ridiculous and I would get parking tickets and I wouldn’t pay them. It was awful. I had bailiffs at my mum’s house. It was really, really bad.”
Georgia met her husband Rhys Davies on Tinder in 2019 with the couple getting engaged after just six months of dating.
Rhys brought a sense of stability to Georgia’s life and helped her develop a better understanding of how to manage and budget her earnings.
“Rhys didn’t necessarily get me out of that situation, but he taught me how to manage my money and take control of my finances,” she said
“The first house that we actually bought, I actually wasn’t on the mortgage for it because I wasn’t able to get a mortgage.
“We had to get a deed of trust so I could give Rhys my money to get that mortgage. Even though I had the money, I couldn’t do it because of the damage I had done earlier on really.”
After graduating from City, Georgia secured a contract at a Bristol law firm and was earning £27,000 in her first year as a trainee solicitor.
In 2020, during the pandemic, Georgia was placed on furlough and turned to Instagram as a way to share more of her life all the while dreaming of the day she could finally get dressed up again.
Georgia started taking mirror selfies of outfits she had bought from high street brands such as ASOS and Zara for her 8,000 followers.
“I would buy outfits that I wanted to wear out but obviously I couldn’t wear out because we were all stuck at home,” she said.
“I was just sharing them on Instagram. My husband Rhys was like: ‘Georgia, this is all going back, isn’t it? Like we’re saving for our house.’
“I was like: ‘Yeah, absolutely.’ Then people kept asking me for links.
“I was thinking there must be a way like if all of these people are buying this to earn commission or something? That’s when I signed up to a platform called LTK.
“So whatever that person purchases, you get a percentage of their basket, essentially. In the first week I made £10. I wasn’t doing this because I had an end goal. It was just for extra pocket money.
“But obviously, within those six months, it snowballed so much so quickly. I remember actually saying to my husband: ‘Can you imagine if I could make more money doing this than being a solicitor?’
“Then I was making the same amount of money in my yearly salary in a month. When I returned to work I was on over six figures – the same as the top partners at my firm.
“So on the day I qualified, I handed in my notice to pursue my Instagram account.”
Georgia said: “Everyone thought I was stupid. My mum didn’t even understand what Instagram was back then. She didn’t understand where all this money was coming from.
“I’d been quite reckless with money before and I think my mum was really nervous that I wasn’t making the right decision. I think there was almost an air of pride in her saying: ‘My daughter is a solicitor.’
“However I qualified and I maintain my non-practising certificate every single year. So that means that I can go back. And if everything fails, it’s going to be OK.”
Georgia now has three women working for her to maintain her Instagram account which has made her the highest earner on the marketing platform LTK.
Asked if celebrities ask her for outfit tips, she said: “All the time. I get a lot of WAGs in my DMs but I won’t say who.”
During her honeymoon to Mexico in 2023, Georgia was inspired to set up her own tanning brand, Tandae, which made over £2million in its second year of trading.
Her husband Rhys quit his sales job to become the managing director of the company which is now used by Strictly Come Dancing stars.
Of launching the business, Georgia said: “I shared a link on my Instagram and had 40,000 people sign up for pre-access. I was like: ‘Oh, my God, what am I going to do? I didn’t have 40,000 units to sell, but what if I had 40,000 emails?
“I looked at Rhys and said: ‘You’re going to have to quit your job. He had worked all of his life with that career but he literally handed in his notice the next day.”
Following the success they achieved after spending years building Tandae, and with Georgia continuing to grow her own fan base through collaborations with high-street brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch and Karen Millen, she treated herself to a Hermès Birkin handbag, while encouraging Rhys to fulfil a long-held dream of purchasing an Audi R8.
“He is the kindest, most humble man,” she said. “I swear he has more of a fan base than what I do. I just adore him.
“He basically had a dream car and had it as a poster on his wall. I really wanted him to have that. It went from being a dream car to we never have to worry about that now.
“I’ve helped out family and friends who have wanted to invest into courses for aesthetics and stuff. I’ve just paid for it because I never want them to worry.
“I want you to just go and enjoy your life and reach for the stars.”
Looking ahead, Georgia has her sights firmly set on the next chapter of her career. She is keen to further develop her presenting skills, with the long-term ambition of one day securing a presenting role on ITV.
“I would love to dabble in TV and see what I can achieve that side of things,” she said.
Asked if a fashion segment on This Morning would be a dream role, she said: “Exactly. I would love it.”