In a new interview with People, Rebel, now 44, said that she had been “embarrassed” about her virginity as a teenager — but ultimately wanted to send a “positive message” about her story.
“People can wait till they’re ready or wait till they’re a bit more mature,” she said. “You obviously don’t have to wait until you’re in your thirties like me, but you shouldn’t feel pressure as a young person.”
Rebel further said that when the topic of virginity was brought up in conversations, she would tend to leave. “Then [there are] the people that said, ‘Oh, at 24, it’s so late.’ And then I’m sitting here thinking, ‘Oh my God, my number’s 35. What the hell? I’m going to look like the biggest loser.'”
While describing herself as a “late bloomer,” she said that she would have had a “very different” experience had she been born 20 years later. “I probably would’ve explored my sexuality more. I just knew I was attracted to men, and that was the normal thing,” Rebel explained. “Then only years later, meeting women and having feelings for a woman, and that — I just think it’s a sign of where society kind of was.”
Rebel is engaged to designer Ramona Agruma and had her first child in 2022.
Rebel Rising comes out on April 2.