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
For many childhood memories are overrun by living nightmares.
Yes, children are resilient, but that doesn't mean that the things we see as babes don't follow us forever.
The horrors of the world are no stranger to the young.
Redditor -2sweetcaramel- wanted to see who was willing to share about the worst things we've seen as kids, so they asked:
"What’s the creepiest thing you saw as a kid?"
Serious Danger
"Me and my best friend would explore the drainage tunnels under the Vegas area where we grew up. These were miles long and it was always really cool down there so it was a good way to escape the heat of our scorching hot summers. We went into this one that goes under the Fiesta casino and found a camp with a bunch of homeless people."
"Mind you we are like 11 years old lol. And we just kept going like it was nothing. It wasn’t scary then but when I look back at it we could have been in some serious danger. Our parents had no idea we did this or where we were and we had no cellphones. We could have been kidnapped and never have been found."
oofboof2020
Waiting for Food
"I was at a portillos once when I was 12 and I was waiting with my little brother at a booth while my parents got our food. This guy was standing with his tray kind of watching me then after a couple of minutes he started to walk over really fast not breaking eye contact with me."
"He was 2 feet from the table and my dad came out of nowhere and scared the s**t out of him. He looked so surprised and just said he wanted to see if I’d get scared or not. He left his tray full of food near the door and left. My folks reported him but we never went to that location again since we found a better one closer to home."
nowhereboy1964
Captain Hobo to the Rescue
"When I was a pretty young teen, my friends and I were horsing around in San Francisco and started hanging out to smoke with some homeless guys. Another homeless dude came up and began aggressively trying to shake us down for anything (money, smokes, a ride, drugs- all of it) and wouldn’t take no for an answer."
"We got in over our heads and could tell this guy was now riling the other 2 guys up and they were acting like they wanted to jump us. Some grandfather-looking old homeless man appeared out of nowhere and yelled at us to get the f**k out of here- nice kids like us don’t belong down here at this hour!!"
"Captain Hobo saved our lives that night. My parents sincerely thought we were at a mall all day lol."
FartAttack911
Survival
tsunami GIF
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"I was 7 and survived the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Witnessed the wave rise way above the already massive palm trees (approx. 40ft?) and my family and I watched/heard the wave crash into the ground from a rooftop."
faithfulpoo
These Tsunami stories are just tragic.
On the Sand
Scared The Launch GIF by CTV
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"We were a group of kids who went to swim in a local lake. And there was a dead body on the beach with their hands raised and their legs bent unnaturally that local police just took out of the same lake. I've never put my foot in these waters again."
oyloff
Be Clever
"I was walking to school and I was about 5 or 6 years old and some guy pulled up beside me in his car and asked if I would get in. He also offered me sweets to do so. I said no. The creepy bit was when he calmly said ‘clever boy’ to me, then drove off. I’ve never even told my parents or anyone else about this as it would most likely freak them out."
OstneyPiz
Bad Jokes
"Dad's side of the family pranked me by burying a fake body on our back property and had me dig it up to find valuables. Was only allowed to use a lantern for light. They stuffed old clothes with chicken bones. Sheetrock mud where the head was... Random fake jewelry as the treasures... I was like maybe 10 or 11.. I remember digging up the boot first and started gagging because it became real at that point."
Alegan239
YOU
Who Are You Reaction GIF by MOODMAN
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"Woke up to find my little brother staring at me in the dark, asking, Are you really you?"
PrettyLola2004
Siblings can really be a bunch of creepers.
No one should talk to others in the dark though.
Not all pet owners have the same relationship with their pets.
While anyone who decides to become a pet owner, or pet parent as some say, love their pets equally, some never ever let them leave their side.
Taking their pet with them to work, running errands, even on vacations.
Many pet parents even allow their pets to share their bed with them when going to sleep.
For others though, this is where a line is finally drawn.
Redditor Piggythelavasurfer was curious to hear whether pet owners allowed their pets to share their bed with them, as well as the reasons why they do/don't, leading them to ask:
"Do you let your pet sleep in your bed? Why/why not?"
The Tiny Issue Of Water...
"Absolutely not."
"I have fish."- Senior-Meal3649
Everyone Gets Lonely Eventually...
"I adopted an eleven year old cat the day before Halloween."
"She has mostly lived in my closet since I got her, and she hasn’t been too interested in coming out."
"Last night, she came out of my closet and jumped up on my bed, and crawled under my covers and curled up by my feet to sleep."
"I was so happy!"- YellowBeastJeep
The Comforting Reminder That You're Not Alone...
"I recently lost my Greyhound but I used to let him sleep on my bed with me."
"The company was nice and he was no trouble to have on my bed."- HoodedMenace3
Hungry Cookie GIF by De Graafschap Dierenartsen
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What Do You Mean Allow?
"I have no choice."
"She is a cat, cats do whatever they want."- Small_cat1412
"He lets me sleep in my bed."- Poorly-Drawn-Beagle
Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way
"I carry my old boy upstairs to bed every night."- worst_in_show
Hug GIF by The BarkPost
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Who Needs An Alarm Clock?
"I let my two cats sleep with me."
"They're so full of love and just want cuddles all the time."
"And so do I."
"We've all developed a lil routine."
"Get to bed, oldest sleeps on my feet to keep them warm, youngest lies in my arm while I lie on my side (she the little spoon), then when I snooze my alarm for work in the morning the youngest paws at my face and meeps loudly to wake me up."- GhostofaFlea_
Whose Bed Is It Anyway?
"Yes."
"They're also kind enough to let me squeeze into whatever space they've left for me."
"Although I do get a few dirty looks off them."- Therealkaylor
"I found this tiny kitten screaming her head off under a car."
"Would not come out."
"Got some food and some water in dishes."
"I stood by the tire so she couldn't see my feet."
"She got curious about the food and water and started gobbling it down."
"I thought she would bolt when I squatted down."
"She was too busy eating."
"I grabbed her by the nape of the neck and all four legs went straight out and she tried to scratch me to death."
"I got her in the door and tossed her toward the couch."
"She ricocheted off the couch as if she was a ping pong off a table and I lost sight of her."
"I put out food and water and a sandbox and did not see that kitten for three days."
"On the third day, I came home and she was on my bed pillow."
"I thought she would bolt when I came near, but she didn't."
"I wanted to sleep so I tried to scoot her little butt off my pillow."
"She would not go."
"I put my head down to sleep and that is the way it was from then on."
"She ran the roost."- Logical_Cherry_7588
sleepy kitten GIF
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Sleeping Is A Prerequisite...
"No, he's a cat and he cannot keep still during the night."
"He walks across the headboard, opens the closet doors, jumps into the windows and rustles the blinds, etc."
"If he would sleep he could stay, but alas, he's a ramblin' man."- Spong_Durnflungle
Saying No Just Isn't An Option...
"'Let'."
"Lol."
"It's a cat's world and I'm happy to be on her good side."- milaren
Felines Only!
"The cat does, the dog doesn't and the horse certainly does not either."- Xcrowzz
Angry Tom And Jerry GIF by Boomerang Official
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Is That My Hair On That Pillow?
"My dog is perfect."
"She comes up, cuddles til we start to fall asleep, then gets down to sleep on her bed so she doesn't get too hot."
"Jumps back up in the early morning for wake up cuddles."
"The hair everywhere is the only downside but she is so cozy, what can you do."- HoodieWinchester
It is easy to understand how some people are able to fall asleep more easily knowing their friend and protector is there, in bed, with them.
Though we can't blame others who don't want to run the risk of being scratched or bitten in the middle of the night either...