AT 33, Lauren Harkins has never been on a date or intimate with someone – but insists she is happy on her own.
While her pals were navigating their way through their first relationships and crushes, Lauren found herself disinterested – viewing them and the dating scene as ”juvenile” and ”overly complicated”.
Deciding that romance wasn’t the one for her, Lauren, from Portland, Maine, admitted she’s never felt the need to prioritise having a romantic relationships, and therefore has never had sex.
”I’m a virgin but I’m not a traditional, usually it’s one or the other but I’m just very content on my own,” the 33-year-old said.
”The 20s is such a confusing time, everyone is figuring out careers and navigating all this stuff – it just wasn’t something I wanted.”
After her father, William Stacey, passed away in 2006, Lauren said the unfortunate event changed the way she prioritised her romantic relationships.
As an only child, the stunning blonde insisted she’s content being by herself and believes having a partner is ”not necessary” to enjoy a fulfilling life.
”When I looked around there was no one who I was friends with and in a relationship whose life I wanted to emulate and I was quite happy to just do my own thing,” she explained.
Lauren went on: ”I’ve never looked to others as a marker for how my life is going to play out but have instead chosen to follow my own intuition on what is best for me at any given time.”
Now in her approaching her mid-30s, Lauren said she’s finally open to a relationship – but the future Romeo will have standards to meet.
Although the woman said that ‘clicking’ with someone is key, Lauren also didn’t want to settle down with just anyone.
”I would want someone who is way more established than I am – I would only want to be someone who is better than me in every way!”
Lauren, who is embracing new things and is currently travelling the world after working in a correctional law enforcement for two years, said she didn’t want ”a traditional lifestyle”.
”I love adventures and trying new things,” said Lauren, who is living primarily off her late dad’s trust fund.
The travelling enthusiast has jetted off to Morocco, Peru, Cayman Islands, Bahamas, France, Germany and the Netherlands, regularly sharing her adventures on social media.
Although the ones closest to her have never pressured her to explore the dating scene, Lauren admitted her friends and family have trouble understanding why she doesn’t want to have sex.
Celebrities tend to keep the details of their sex life private, but when it comes to their choice to wait until marriage, some stars are actually willing to open up.
Jessica Simpson – Before marrying Nick Lachey, Jessica was very open about her decision to remain a virgin. She said she was nervous about discussing the topic with Nick for the first time, but he “stayed patient” until they tied the knot in 2002.
Justin and Hailey Bieber – Justin may have been with other people before his wife Hailey, but when they reconnected in 2019, he was more than a year into a self-imposed tenure of celibacy. Together, the couple decided to continue to refrain from having sex until they were married.
Adriana Lima – Victoria’s Secret model Adriana’s Catholic faith influenced her decision to save herself for marriage. She explained potential suitors would have to respect her decision — and if they weren’t willing to wait, then they weren’t the right person for her.
Miranda Kerr and Evan Spiegel – When Miranda started dating Snapchat founder Evan, the couple decided to wait until marriage to have sex because of Evan’s traditional beliefs. In an interview, Miranda was asked about the possibility of having children before their wedding and she said it wouldn’t be possible: “Not until after we get married. My partner is very traditional. We can’t…I mean we’re just…waiting,” she told The Times.
Kevin Jonas – All the Jonas brothers famously wore purity rings for much of their adolescence, in part due to their religious upbringing. While Nick and Joe ended up taking their rings off, Kevin saw things through until he tied the knot with his wife Danielle in 2009.
The 33-year-old emphasised she doesn’t ”subscribe to any particular religion at all” but because she’s ”not sleeping around and living super modern feminist lifestyle, that camp also doesn’t know what to ” with her, Lauren explained.
”Too traditional for the feminists but not traditional enough for the traditional people”, Lauren said she’s ”on a mission ”to break that barrier”.
When it comes to finding her future partner, Lauren likes to maintain high standards – and she encourages others to do the same.
”A late bloomer”, the 33-year-old singleton said it was ”important to destigmatize this lifestyle” and her virgin status didn’t mean there’s ”anything wrong” with her.
