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People Who Waited Until Marriage To Lose Their Virginity Explain Whether It Was Worth It

Sex is suppose to be a very intimate, special moment that two lovers share to express their most desired, carnal, passionate and amorous feelings toward one another. That's the goal we're taught in the beginning. We're groomed to wait for that perfect person. Find them, marry them and then hit the sheets only after a union of souls. In this day and age that's probably about 5% of the population. They're out there and we're dying to know the results.

Redditor u/championofdiscord wanted to see who would be brave enough to share some intimate after "I DO" secrets by asking.... Those of you that waited until marriage to have sex, was it worth it or not? What did you learn from waiting?

The Only...

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Didn't necessarily wait for marriage but my husband is the only person I've been with. It took a long time for us to get comfortable voicing what we wanted and there was a lot of awkwardness for a while. I think it makes us closer though knowing that we've only ever been with each other, but if he ever cheated i think it would be a lot more devastating for us than other couples. ValiantValchory

i think some of it is luck.

i wasn't really presented with the opportunity to have sex before i met my wife. i guess if i pursued it more heavily with other girls it might have happened, but i was also crippled by self doubt. for whatever reason, that all melted away when i started dating my now wife. i had a courage that surprised me.

we had sex before marriage although we are both religious. we are each other's first and only. we both fooled around with others before dating, but not intercourse.

i have no regrets at all. i love being with my wife, and as far as i know she is happy as well. we celebrate 15 years of marriage next year.

i think some of it is luck. i know i am very lucky that we are on the same page about so much in life, sex included. billionthtimesacharm

"sex is dirty"

I'm grateful for waiting until marriage. My wife and I have been married for half a year or so and it's been a lot of trial and error; however, our bond and our connection has really benefitted from learning together. Honestly, I grew up with this big idea of what sex was, but helping my wife out of her wedding dress to see her for the first time is a moment that I will never forget and I am grateful for.

I think religion has really done a number on sex and its "cleanliness". I am a Christian and that's why I waited; however, we tend to focus on sex is dirty and shameful and ignore the fact that God created this act to be a beautiful bonding moment for his creation. Unfortunately, the way sex has been taught in churches has made it incredibly difficult for men and women to be comfortable with the idea of sex.

Tldr, Glad I waited. Teaching "sex is dirty" and nothing else, messes people up. Natethegreat728

​Absolutely!

Absolutely!

My wife and I were virgins until our wedding night. We've been married 29 years and have a wonderful sex life. We've learned together and experimented together. I think one of the great things is that since we learned with each other we don't have to worry about not being as good as a previous partner or not... measuring up in other ways. darxeid

Be Healthy. 

My late wife and I waited till our wedding night for religious reasons. We never went past first base before then but we did make out quite a bit while we were dating and engaged (a lot of that time was long distance).

Of course our first time was awkward and nervous, but we both wanted each other. It didn't take long for us to develop a healthy sex life that lasted the 15 years of our marriage, and gave us 5 kids. We never had a "sex is dirty" view, but we were both taught that sex should be enjoyed only in marriage which we did.

The upside of this was that we both trusted each other reasonably well when we were apart. If both of us could keep our pants on with each other, I didn't worry about her and a male paramedic alone at the firehouse and she didn't worry about me being on the road as a pilot.

Naturally there were some issues between us like all marriages, but I don't regret anything. usmcmech

Thumbs Up!

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Went great. But I think because we had a great support system that gave us realistic expectations. There was a learning curve. If I could change one thing though, it would be the birth control. Went on it a few months before the wedding and the doctor never gave me a warning about all the side effects and that I should have switched if I was feeling that horrible. scaryjokes

​Late to the party.

Late to the party.

I waited. Married someone who I thought loved me but just wanted to wait for sex. Actually she just never loved me. She found who she wanted and left me with two kids... And I'm so happy. Im having fun dating and love being a dad. So probably a bad idea for most, but all in all, ok for me? Fitemylk

"throwing it away"

I didn't wait until marriage, but I waited until I found myself with someone I could see marrying. And sure enough we did end up married, so my husband is the only man I've ever been with. I would definitely say that waiting until I found someone I loved and cherished in a more mature way than I could have at a younger age was worth the wait, rather than kind of "throwing it away" for lack of better term.

Thankfully we have an absolutely stellar sex life and I feel like we are perfectly matched. However, I believe that sexual compatibility it really important and I wouldn't wait until after marriage to find out that we weren't going to be compatible. mrsjiggems2

Breaking the taboo...

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waited, IMO worth it. i agree that there are some bad experiences other people have had due to waiting, but i feel like in a lot of the stories mentioned there were other issues at work as well, like serious lack of communication or honesty or something

honestly i feel like sex was so taboo for so long, but now the push is in the opposite direction, got people these days who think you need to get some before thinking about a relationship. why does it have to be extremes? cant it be less taboo to acknowledge or talk about without it losing all meaning?

do what feels comfortable and right to you in your relationship, but set real expectations as to what will happen when you choose what you do. Phache-Naim

13 year Success!!! 

Was it worth it? This literally one of those ignorance is bliss situations. I got married at 22, we've been married for 13 years, now. Sure it was worth it, but I have no knowledge of the opposite so does my answer have any meaning? Does having sex after marriage make the sex or the marriage more valid? No, so it doesn't really matter.

What did I learn from waiting? I learned what I had always suspected, I really like sex. I like it a lot. 13 years! mousemorethanman

Oh Brother....

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My brother and his ex-wife did it for religious reasons. turned out she was bi maybe lesbian and either didn't admit it or realize it till she cheated on him with another girl. highrollinjz

Happy Now. 

I knew a woman who married her high school sweetheart and they didn't do anything before marriage because of religious reasons.

Turns out, they didn't do anything after they were married, either, because her husband ended up feeling very ashamed about anything sexual at all, to the point that he couldn't perform. She also couldn't get any sexual gratification, because she'd had a very taboo concept of masturbation.

They were married for a little over a year before they divorced. It was really sad when she told me about it.

Luckily she's been through years of therapy now, and while she's still a virgin and kind of upset that she is (bc she doesn't like being in her mid-thirties and still a virgin), she's mostly processed the entire thing and is a lot happier now than she used to be. chengsao

​I don't know.

I don't know. I have nothing else to compare it to since I've only ever been with my husband.

I would say it's nice that we are each other's "first." But with that comes a lot of trial and error. It might have been nice to have a partner with more experience than me. So I guess I learned that two virgins are probably not going to be great at sex for a while. And maybe I should have not had to much high expectations for a while. cls107

Exploration....

I just got married this summer as a virgin, and I think this is what's nice about waiting. I'm exploring and learning these things with my wife. There is a learning curve, but this way it's an adventure for us together, and I get these memories with the woman I intend to love the rest of my life as apposed to anyone else. lotrfan1991

Who Knows?

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Learn from waiting? Since there was no experienced teacher, we learned a lot about communication in bed... What works... what doesn't and equally important what was 'ok'. We had to teach ourselves. Also Since neither of us had anyone that we were comparing ourselves to, there is a comfort I'm the best (and worst) they ever had. Dmonney

 Their very first kiss was at the alter.

My best friend and her husband were virgins when they got married. Their very first kiss was at the alter. It turned out that she has an extremely high sex drive and he has a an issue with touching. Of course, this led to infidelity and they ended up having to go to marriage counseling and sex counseling so that he could get over his fear of intimacy. I don't approve of her cheating at all but I feel like it could have been avoided if they would have communicated and touched more before marriage.

I don't necessarily know if she would have done things differently, being deeply involved in seminary and church, I know they still wouldn't have had sex but I am fairly confident that she would have been more pressing about the intimacy issue. andshewillbe

Measured Up. 

I read somewhere a lady was super shocked that her now husband had a micropenis. Not that size is the most important thing but that's a lie of omissions. differentiatedpansS

ome traditional cultures had some custom for inspecting the bodies of the people their children/grandchildren/nieces/nephews were going to marry for reasons like this (nothing necessarily weird, but you can't go on a long hunting and river-crossing excursion with your future wife's uncle without giving away some details.) theapplen

"level up"

My wife and I waited. Imo it was worth the wait, but I don't begrudge anyone for not waiting. We waited for religious reasons, though we're not Fundamentalists or militantly Christian by any stretch, so to each their own.

We had a hard time waiting, but that did make our wedding night/honeymoon a lot more exciting. It was a lot of fun figuring each other out and learning that new skill together. It felt more like a "level up" than anything else, though, and had we not waited I don't think our relationship would be any better or worse.

We also had essentially 0 expectations for what our first time would be like and didn't place any undue pressure on ourselves to perform. Because of that, our first time was great. Had we gone in with major expectations, though, I think it would have felt worse.

Overall, worth the wait for us, but maybe not for others. I can totally understand why someone would want to make sure they're sexually compatible with another before committing. Lancaster2124

Discuss Some Taboos First. 

My husband and I were both virgins on our wedding night.

I don't regret waiting but I do wish there was more conversations had about sex. The first year or so in the relationship I was faking it because I thought that's just what women were supposed to do and didn't know how to express otherwise to my husband. I also didn't want to make him feel any less about himself than he does.

I did end up telling him, and we went from already limited sex to near non-existent for a few months.

We ended up having several much needed conversations about what we both need or that we don't really know how to get there.

Since then we still don't have sex as often as I'd like to, but it is much better now.

I think it's important to talk about good communication. It's something I struggle with and he struggles with and no one ever talks about. Even with friends it's a little taboo. And I get it. Sex is a private intimate thing, but at the same time, it needs to be normalized in public so that when I am in private with my husband, I don't feel so ashamed and he doesn't have to feel like he's doing something wrong. SamPamTYM

Thumbs Up!

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It was totally worth it. We grew up being really close as friends and we thought that would actually help as the relationship was non-sexual at the start. We didn't get together until after college. We waited a couple years and after a while I didn't know if it would ever happen. The engagement got rough a couple times because we would get close but then stop last second. Do you know what it's like to have what essentially amounted to tension for a good 4 years? After the marriage it was all fine though until her husband found out. ambermage

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lost virginity after marriage

People Describe The Most Traumatizing Thing They Ever Experienced As A Child

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Life is hard. It's a miracle to make it through with some semblance of sanity. We are all plagued by grief and trauma. More and more people of all backgrounds are opening up about personal trauma and its origins. Finally! For far too long we've been too silent on this topic. And with so many people unable to afford mental health care, the outcomes can be damaging.

All of our childhoods have ups and downs and memories that can play out like nightmares. We carry that, or it follows us and the first step in recovery is talking about it. So who feels strong enough to speak?

Redditor u/nthn_thms wanted to see who was willing to share about things they'd probably rather forget, by asking:

What's the most traumatizing thing you experienced as a child?
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Being single can be fun. In fact, in this time of COVID, being single can save lives. But the heart is a fickle creature.

And being alone can really suck in times of turmoil. None of us are perfect and it feels like that's all anyone is looking for... perfect.

Now that doesn't mean that all of us are making it difficult to partner up. Sure, some people are too picky and mean-spirited, but some of the rest of us are crazy and too much to handle. So one has to be sure.

The truth is, being single is confusing, no matter how much we try to match. So let's try to understand...

Redditor u/Mcxyn wanted to discuss some truths about love and our own issues, by asking:

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Tiard Schulz/Unsplash

Whether you're an at home parent, a college student just leaving the nest, or a Food Network junkie, there are a few basic tips that everyone should know.

Chef's gave us some of their top tips for amateurs and beginner at home cooks that will really make a difference. They are trained professionals with years of experience in the kitchen, so they definitely know what we're all missing.

If you're looking to improve some of your cooking skills and techniques, but you're still learning how to boil water correctly, this list is for you.

Redditor BigBadWolf44 wanted in on the secrets and asked:

"Chefs of Reddit, what's one rule of cooking amateurs need to know?"

Let's learn from the masters!


What a common mistake!

"A lot of the time when people add salt to a dish because they think it tastes flat, what it really needs is an acid like lemon juice or vinegar."

- Vexvertigo

"Instructions unclear I drugged my dinner party guests and now they're high on acid."

- itsyoboi_human

"Yes! Or tomatoes. They're pretty acidic too and go with so many things. Our dinners are so much better once the garden tomatoes are ripe. Or if a dish is too acidic, oil/butter or a little sugar can help add balance to it."

- darkhorse85

"Like tomato and eggs. Every Chinese mom makes those slightly differently and I haven't had a tomato egg dish I didn't like yet."

- random314

"There's a book called 'Salt Fat Acid Heat' that comes highly recommended to amateur cooks."

- Osolemia

"Reading even just the first chapter about salt made a lot of food I cooked immediately better, because I finally understood salt wasn't just that thing that sat on the dinner table that you applied after the meal was cooked."

- VaultBoy42

"Salt is important for sweets. A batch of cookies without that little hint of salt doesn't taste quite right."

- Osolemia

Unfortunately, this tip might not be accessible to everyone. Many people who contracted COVID can no longer use their sense of smell the way they used to.

"Have a friend that lost his smell from COVID, and now he only recognizes if food is salty, sweet, sour or bitter."

- AlphaLaufert99

"Just wait until he gets his sense of smell back and a ton of foods smell like ammonia or literal garbage now. Yeah, that's fun... It's been 7 months for f*cks sake just let me enjoy peanut butter again!!!!!!!!!"

- MirzaAbdullahKhan

You can't take back what you've already put in.

"You can always add, but you cannot take away."

- El_Duende666

"I find people's problems usually are they're too scared to add rather than they add too much."

- FreeReflection25

"I see you also grew up white in the mid-west."

- Snatch_Pastry

Safety first!

"Not really a cooking tip, but a law of the kitchen: A falling knife has no handle."

- wooddog

"I'm always so proud of my reflexes for not kicking in when I fumble a knife."

"If I drop anything else, my stupid hands are all over themselves trying to catch it (and often failing). But with a knife the hardwired automatic reaction is jump back immediately. Fingers out of the way, feet out of the way, everything out of the way. Good lookin out, cerebellum!"

- sonyka

"Speaking of KICKING in. On first full time cooking job I had a knife spin and fall off the counter. My (stupid) reflex was to put my foot under it like a damn hacky sack to keep it from hitting the ground. Went through the shoe, somehow between my toes, into the sole somehow without cutting me. Lessons learned: (1) let it fall; (2) never set a knife down close to the edge or with the handle sticking out; (3) hacky sack is not nearly as cool as it could be."

- AdjNounNumbers

"Similarly, NEVER put out a grease or oil fire with water. Smother with a lid or dump baking soda in there (do not use flour, as it can combust in the air making things worse)."

- Metallic_Substance

How else will you know it tastes good?

"Taste the food."

- OAKRAIDER64

"Also don't be afraid to poke and prod at it. I feel like people think the process is sacred and you can't shape/flip/feel/touch things while you cook them. The more you are hands on, the more control you have."

"No, this does not include situations where you are trying to sear something. Ever try flipping a chicken thigh early? That's how you rip a chunk out of it and leave it glued to the pan until it's burnt."

- Kryzm

Here's one just for laughs.

"When you grab a pair of tongs, click them a few times to make sure they are tongs."

- Kolshdaddy

"People really overlook this one. You've gotta tong the tongs a minimum of 3 times to make sure they tong, or else it can ruin the whole dish."

- BigTimeBobbyB

If you're looking to get into cooking or to improve you technique, pay attention to these few tips.

Salt generously, add an acid to brighten things up, and don't forget to taste your food!

If all else fails, you can always order take out.

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

cooking

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Victoria_Borodinova/Pixaba

As part of the learning process, children often do embarrassing things before they learn a little more about the world and all the different implications therein. While the inappropriate moment is usually minor and ends in laugher some instances are truly mortifying.

One such instance involved a little sister who was around 6 at the time. It was the 90s and at the height of the youth-focused PSAs (think the frying egg representing your brain). One type was a safety PSA about stranger danger. The speaker would remind the children that if a stranger tried to take you anywhere to yell “Stop, you're not my mommy/daddy" to raise the alarm.

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