\u201cI don\u2019t like to make a big deal out of waiting till marriage,\u201d says De Buchi, who has traveled to over 20 countries alone. \u201cIn my friend group, everyone is. It\u2019s very normal.\u201d One of her friends runs an event called Hot, Holy, Healed for Christian women, where De Buchi sells her jewelry under her own name. The brand gives 10 percent of each sale to anti-trafficking organizations, she says.<\/p>\n
For De Buchi, the mission connects directly to how she thinks about sex itself. \u201cThere\u2019s such a sexualized culture and perversion more than ever,\u201d she says, \u201cand people think that means more freedom. But I actually think it\u2019s the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same time, she didn\u2019t think she\u2019d be waiting this long to have sex, having assumed she\u2019d be married in her early twenties.<\/p>\n
She met her boyfriend on Hinge a year and a half ago. She was upfront about her own abstinence from the beginning. They don\u2019t have sleepovers. \u201cI don\u2019t want to play house with someone before I marry them,\u201d she says. \u201cI think that\u2019s something you should look forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n Photo memories with her boyfriend at the end of her bed.<\/p>\n <\/span>Photograph: Skye Battles<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n She\u2019s launching a podcast called The Gypsy Virgin<\/em>, because she couldn\u2019t find anything that addressed the practical reality of preparing for sex after marriage when you\u2019ve been waiting your whole life. She reads about sex, she owns lingerie, she dances\u2014small ways of staying connected to a sexuality she plans to use. \u201cI think for a long time I probably did suppress that,\u201d she says, \u201cbecause it\u2019s probably easier. But I want to be connected to myself.\u201c\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n De Buchi wants to be clear that she is not just sitting around waiting for a husband. She has a business, a mission, a community. \u201cSomeone shouldn\u2019t complete you,\u201d she says. \u201cThey should add to your life.\u201c\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Image](\"https:\/\/media.wired.com\/photos\/69e15fa9a619499b9c4fcb8f\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/SB_CelibateWomen_Marina_Final-6.jpg\"\/)
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