Olympian Lolo Jones Says Revealing She's A 40-Year-Old Virgin Has Destroyed Her Dating Life

Olympian Lolo Jones says she regrets publicly revealing that she is still a virgin at 40 as it had a negative impact on her dating life.

The American hurdler and bobsledder's stellar career at both the summer and winter Olympics was overshadowed recently by headlines about her love life after she revealed that she was waiting for marriage before having sex.

Credit: Roger Sedres / Alamy

Jones is a devout Christian and made the decision to abstain from sex until she is married, so it is something special the two of them can share with each other only.

However, the revelation that she is still a virgin had an impact on her dating life.

She had first revealed she was a virgin on Twitter, before adding during an interview on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel in 2012

Credit: Roger Sedres / Alamy

"It’s just something, a gift I want to give to my husband."

“But please understand, this journey has been hard. There’s virgins out there, I’m gonna let them know, it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.

“Harder than training for the Olympics, harder than graduating from college, has been to stay a virgin before marriage.”

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Jones revealed that in the decade since opening up about her virginity, she has struggled to date as men know she is only looking for a serious connection rather than a casual relationship.

She told Kevin Hart on his Cold as Balls podcast:

"That was a mistake. That killed all my dates after that — like didn’t even have a chance. Like before, at least I had a chance."

"Before, I’d like, tiptoe, 'OK, when’s a good time to tell him? Do I wait until he sees my personality a little bit? Or do I just drop the bomb?'"

Jones also claimed that abstinence had put her at a disadvantage as a sportswoman as she doesn't get the release or hormonal benefits other athletes get.

She explained: "I have a higher level of intensity because I don’t have any pressure release. Everybody knows me as stressed out."

"Having sex actually helps you as an athlete, a female athlete. It’s good for your hormones. So I’m running at a disadvantage."

Jones admitted that she got "really bored with dating" and started to "give up hope" after being let down by men over the years.

"Look, I’m no spring chicken. I’m not at an age where I can pretend like in my 20s 'oh I’m not looking for anything serious' when I was totally wanting to get married at that age," she revealed.

"It’s hard to date. It’s always the same story, picking between two extremes. One guy is a Christian one guy is not. ⁣One guy is a workaholic the other one is unmotivated. I’m torn between personality or character. Looks or morals."

While Jones is yet to find the right guy for herself, she has decided to freeze her eggs as a safety net to make sure that she can have children if her ideal partner is further into the future.

She wrote on Instagram: "I have made the right move to prepare for a family if me and my husband want to try to have kids one day, we have options.

"No one should be shamed for taking their time to figure out who their life partner is. A woman shouldn’t be shamed for wanting biological kids or wanting to know what it’s like to be pregnant and carry her own child."