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Woman who was still a virgin in her 50s says she has now found happiness and has made peace with being childless not by choice

By Nina Steele 

The story of Maria-Louise Warne, which she shared in the Daily Mail, is remarkable, not only because in a world where sex seems to be everywhere, she remained a virgin until her early 50s, but even more so, because, as implausible as it may sound, she was married twice during those years of being a virgin. Her first husband believed that sex was only for procreation. She was only 20 when she married him and was not yet ready to become a mother. In the end, they divorced without ever having sex. She remarried aged 25 and, just like her first marriage, the second one was never consummated.

When she finally had sex in her early 50s, it was with a man who, after she had explained to him that she had never had sex before, wanted to help her become more assertive, as opposed to using her lack of experience against her. That proved a major turning point. Instead of feeling shame for only starting to have sexual intercourse in her 50s, she was buoyed by the whole experience, so much so that she ended up sharing her story with the whole world.

Now aged 62, she is in a happy relationship. She had moved to France with her second husband and has remained there ever since. She has made peace with the fact that motherhood will not happen for her, and is making the most of her life while she still can. Of her current life she says: “I’m always busy, and go for a 15km run most mornings before starting work (she teaches English)”. She goes on to say: “When I get home in the evening, I’m greeted by my two Chihuahuas, Harry and Barney, and I might host a group of female friends or meet a pal at our favourite sushi restaurant”.

Her story is inspiring because it breaks a lot of social stereotypes and norms. Being married and having sex is supposed to go hand in hand, and even though there have been stories of marriages that were never consummated, I cannot recollect reading it happening to the same person twice. And then, as is often the case, a woman in her situation is expected to be bitter about the way her life has turned out, particularly the fact that she did want children and ended up childless. Yet, against all the odds, her story has a happy ending.

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