Married Twice But I Was Still A Virgin At 51
A woman has described how, despite being married twice, she didn't lose her virginity until she was 51 years old.
Maria-Louise was married to first husband John, who was 12 years her senior, from the age of 18 to her mid-twenties, but the couple never consummated their union.
When they were dating, after meeting in the shop run by Maria-Louise's mother in Tiverton, Devon, she was actually pleased by his physical reticence as it comforted her that he wasn't just her for sex.
The couple agreed not to have sex before marriage but even after they had wed they were never intimate.
John, who was a staunch Catholic, told Maria-Louise that he believed sex was for procreation only and because she wasn't ready for children she agreed that they should not sleep together.
At first Maria-Louise accepted the no sex rule, partially because she had always been taught by her mother that sex was to be endured, not enjoyed
However, over the years it became a source of great frustration for her.
Then in 1982 Maria-Louise met Carol, the man who would become her 2nd husband, when she started work in the shop he owned.
The couple began an affair, but did not have sex.
In 1987 Maria-Louise and John separated amicably and by the end of the year Carol had left his wife and children for her.
However, despite being together for the next 26 years the couple were never intimate despite Maria-Louise's wish to be so.
In her early 30s, realising that her chance to have children was passing her by, Maria-Louise contemplated leaving Carol.
But in 1995 - when Maria-Louise was was 38 and was 60 - Carol became gravely ill and had to have a triple heart bypass.
Lying in his hospital bed Carol asked her to marry him and, thinking things would be different when they tied the knot, Maria-Louis..., Image: 234075517, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Profimedia, TEMP Rex Features