Ben Higgins and Jess Clarke, Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson and More Celebrity Couples Who Waited to Have Sex Until Marriage

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Ben Higgins and Jess Clarke, Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson and More Celebrity Couples Who Waited to Have Sex Until Marriage

To each their own. While Ben Higgins and Jessica Clarke are making headlines for their decision to abstain from sex until they tie the knot, they are hardly the first celebrity couple to make the public declaration. Back in the ‘90s, Jessica Simpson’s decision to save herself for marriage was a hot topic. The singer opened up about how her relationship with now ex-husband Nick Lachey was affected by her choice in her 2020 memoir, Open Book. “It gave America a story line to follow,” she wrote. “The sexy virgin and the long-suffering, but still understanding, hot prince. … Nick loved the fact that I was so strong in my faith … [But] I would get so frustrated, asking God to take the blindfold from his eyes and help him find a spiritual center.” Still, Simpson admitted that she was tempted before their October 2002 nuptials. [jwplayer Nvic4zrV-l3ahXupL] “One time, he hugged me, and I thought I was just going to burst into flames,” she recalled in Open Book. “I had to push him away, not because I didn’t trust him, but because I was teetering on the edge of just giving in.” After the twosome got married, Simpson felt like she owed it to the public to open up about her experience. “I’d built up this anticipation in my mind that the first time I had sex with my husband had to be this transcendent experience where the heavens parted,” she wrote. “What I didn’t know then is that everyone’s first time is awkward, and that is part of it. And that it’s OK, but at the time, it’s tough to understand. I had joined a long line or virgins in my family who said yes to forever for that one experience.” Simpson and Lachey ultimately went their separate ways in 2005. While he married Vanessa Lachey in 2011, the fashion designer and Eric Johnson exchanged vows in 2014. Both Simpson and Lachey have three kids with their second spouses. “In terms of my marriage to Eric, I have never felt more myself or more free,” Simpson told Us Weekly in February 2020. “Eric and I have a true mind, body [and] soul connection. I am most certainly in this marriage and this life with Eric by my side with free will!” Scroll through for other celebrity couples who opted to abstain from premarital sex:

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Adriana Lima and Marko Jaric

The model revealed during a candid GQ interview in 2006 that she was a virgin. “Well, you know, sex is just for after marriage. … They have to respect that this is my choice. If there’s no respect, that means they don’t want me,” Lima said. “I’m Catholic, too, but there’s a lot of things about the church that make it hard to date within its rules, don’t you think?”

Lima and Jaric wed in 2009. They split in 2016.

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Ali Landry and Alejandro Monteverde

Following her short-lived marriage to Mario Lopez, Landry revealed on The Wendy Williams Show in 2014 that she and Monteverde waited to consummate their relationship.

“Because of the situation I was in before, I was just treading lightly and did not want to make any mistakes in this relationship,” she explained, referring to Lopez allegedly cheating on her shortly before their nuptials. “We abstained from having sex until we got married.”

Landry and Monteverde wed in 2006.

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Andy Grammer and Aijia

The pair revealed in 2019 that they waited because of the musician’s beliefs.

“It’s supposed to be sweet. She was just, like, confused,” Grammer told Yahoo Lifestyle.

Aijia added, “You were a 28-year-old virgin, and I took that s—t on our wedding night.”

Credit: Courtesy of Ben Higgins/Instagram

Ben Higgins and Jess Clarke

The former Bachelor told Nick Viall in April 2020 that he and his fiancée weren’t having sex until their upcoming wedding.

“It’s just a respect level,” he said. “At the end of all of this, this is Jess’ day. This is our day as a couple, but I want to make sure she has the wedding she’s always dreamed of and that she feels celebrated.”

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Ciara and Russell Wilson

The NFL quarterback and the singer were open about their decision to wait to have sex until their wedding night.

"I have to give credit to my husband for sharing those views," Ciara told Cosmopolitan in January 2017. "It's awesome how it all worked out. We women think with our hearts and with our minds. When we see a guy, we envision what he's like and whether this could be something special. Guys see us from an exterior point of view—that's something I learned along the way as a woman … You shouldn't feel like you have to give your body away to get someone to like you."

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Evan Spiegel and Miranda Kerr

Kerr made headlines in February 2017 when she told The London Times that she and then-fiancé Spiegel were “waiting” until marriage. “[He] is very traditional. We can’t,” she said months before their nuptials.

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Jordin Sparks and Dana Isaiah

The American Idol alum openly wore a purity ring before her 2017 wedding. Isaiah also opens up about his faith often.

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Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin

The duo, who wed in 2018, confirmed their pre-marital celibacy in the March 2019 cover story of Vogue.

“He doesn’t ask us not to have sex for him because he wants rules and stuff,” Bieber said. “He’s like, I’m trying to protect you from hurt and pain. I think sex can cause a lot of pain. Sometimes people have sex because they don’t feel good enough. Because they lack self-worth. Women do that, and guys do that. I wanted to rededicate myself to God in that way because I really felt it was better for the condition of my soul. … And I believe that God blessed me with Hailey as a result. There are perks. You get rewarded for good behavior.”

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Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson

“I was 22, and I had just pledged my life and destiny of this man. And I don’t regret it,” Simpson wrote in her book about her wedding night. “Nick was meant to be my husband. No one else was supposed to have my virginity.”

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Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici

The season 17 Bachelor, who was referred to as a “born-again virgin,” made it clear nothing was going down in the fantasy suite during his season. After he got engaged to Giudici during the finale, the twosome confirmed that they were waiting until their wedding night to sleep together.

"We made a really good decision for us and we're excited to consummate as husband and wife," she said in January 2014. "It's something that is a benefit of being married."

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Tamera Mowry and Adam Housley

The Sister, Sister star revealed she lost her virginity at 29 — and then waited until her 2011 wedding to Housley to have sex again.

"I don't know how to explain this. I'm religious, so I waited until I was 29 to lose my virginity," she said on a radio interview in 2013. "You may not understand this [but] I did it, then I felt guilty, then I became celibate until I got married."

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Tim Tebow and Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters

The athlete was outspoken about his stance against premarital sex before his January 2020 wedding.