Lauren Harkins, a 33-year-old woman, has recently shared that she is a virgin and has never been on a date. While her friends were enjoying dating and getting married, Lauren chose to take a different path and remained uninterested in pursuing relationships.

Lauren explained that she’s never felt the need for a partner in her life, so she decided to remain celibate. She said, “I’m a virgin, but I’m not a traditional one. Usually, it’s one or the other, but I’m just very content on my own.” She describes her situation as unique.

“The 20s is such a confusing time,” she continued. “Everyone is figuring out careers and navigating all this stuff – it just wasn’t something I wanted.”

Lauren also opened up about how the death of her father, William Stacey, in 2006 influenced her views on relationships. She said it made her rethink her priorities, and she’s happy doing her own thing.

“When I looked around, there was no one I was friends with and in a relationship whose life I wanted to emulate, and I was quite happy to just do my own thing,” she explained.

“I’ve never looked to others as a marker for how my life is going to play out but have instead chosen to follow my own intuition on what is best for me at any given time.”

When asked if she’s ready for a relationship in her 30s, Lauren said, “If someone comes along who I really click with, then I would be happy with that. But otherwise, I’m very happy being on my own.”

As for the type of man she would want, Lauren shared, “I would want someone who is way more established than I am. I would only want to be with someone who is better than me in every way!”

She continued, “I don’t want to live a traditional lifestyle. I am very goal-oriented, emotionally independent, and love my freedom – I just want to live life to the fullest.”

Lauren also pointed out, “Most people who are still virgins at my age save themselves for a husband and are often religious. I don’t subscribe to any particular religion at all, but because I’m not sleeping around and living a super modern feminist lifestyle, that camp also doesn’t know what to do with me.”

“It’s like I’m too traditional for the feminists but not traditional enough for the traditional people, so I am trying to break that barrier.”

Talking about her standards for finding a partner, she said, “I have hundreds of messages from people in similar situations, so I feel like I’m helping people,” she added, emphasizing that she’s “quite normal” despite her unique lifestyle.

“I am of sound mind and body. I’m not socially awkward or repressed,” she said.

“I think it’s important to destigmatize this lifestyle. I’m just a late bloomer – it doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with me.”