11 Stars Who Opened Up About Choosing to Be Celibate

Find out why these stars practiced celibacy…

1. Julia Fox

Julia Fox recently opened up about her choice to be celibate in a comment on TikTok. After a user posted a video condemning dating app Bumble for using billboards that said “A vow of celibacy is not the answer,” Julia commented that she didn’t agree with Bumble’s message.

“2.5 years of celibacy and never been better tbh,” Julia wrote. While she didn’t go into any further details, Julia made it clear that she was happy with the way she was living her life.

2. Suki Waterhouse

Before Suki Waterhouse hit it off with her fiancé Robert Pattison, she went through an extended "bout of celibacy.” She explained that for a period of time she went on no dates and it gave her the chance to clear her mind and become more comfortable with herself.

“It's just something about taking away the chaos of receiving attention, having to deal with it and texting people and getting those lurches of excitement,” she said on the Driven Minds: A Type 7 podcast. “It turned out to be great. I got very clear and got very comfortable with being by myself -- then I ended up meeting my boyfriend. It felt extra special in a way.”

3. Andrew Garfield

Andrew Garfield made the choice to be celibate while preparing for his role in the 2016 film Silence. The actor says that in the six months leading up to filming, he decided not to have sex and go on an intense fasting diet, which ended up being a very spiritual experience.

“I had an incredibly spiritual experience. I did a bunch of spiritual practices every day, I created new rituals for myself,” Andrew said on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast. “I was celibate for six months -- and fasting a lot because me and Adam [Driver] had to lose a bunch of weight anyway. It was very cool, man. I had some pretty wild, trippy experiences from starving myself of sex and food at that time.”

4. Justin Bieber

Before Justin Bieber tied the knot with his wife Hailey Bieber, he made the decision to become celibate until marriage. When he reconnected with Hailey, Justin had already been practicing abstinence for a year and a half because he realized he had “a legitimate problem with sex.” Once they got back together, the couple decided to wait to have sex until they tied the knot, which they say made them feel closer to God.

“He doesn’t ask us not to have sex for him because he wants rules and stuff. He’s like, I’m trying to protect you from hurt and pain. I think sex can cause a lot of pain. Sometimes people have sex because they don’t feel good enough. Because they lack self-worth. Women do that, and guys do that. I wanted to rededicate myself to God in that way because I really felt it was better for the condition of my soul. And I believe that God blessed me with Hailey as a result,” Justin told Vogue.

5. Nick Cannon

Nick Cannon has turned to celibacy at several points in his life. When he began dating Mariah Carey, the couple decided not to have sex until they tied the knot. While their relationship didn’t last, Nick once again chose to become celibate after he learned he was expecting his eighth child. At the time, Nick said he wanted to “chill out” and focus on being “the best father I can be [and] the best businessman I can be.”

“My therapist was one of the [people] who said that I should probably be celibate because I had shared that news, that Bre was pregnant. That was the reason why I started my celibacy journey back then,” he said on his talk show. “I felt like I was out of control and honestly, celibacy did help me through the journey of getting one with myself and being able to deal with this.”

6. Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore opened up about her choice to be celibate on an episode of her talk show, explaining that she hadn’t been intimate with another person since splitting with her ex, Will Kopelman in 2016. She shared that while she was still interested in sex, she could go “years” without it.

“Since entering life as a single mom, I have not been able to have an intimate relationship. I have had the honor and a pleasure to actually work on myself and learn what parenting is, again something I was not exactly clear on growing up and I’ve had many learning curves thrown my way,” she wrote on her blog. “I am just in a completely different place in my life and maybe in the near future I will get into a relationship… but it simply hasn’t been my priority. So I’m not a person who needs sex and has to go out there and engage with people on that level.”

7. Kourtney Kardashian & Travis Barker

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker may be known for their over-the-top PDA but the couple actually made the choice to abstain from sex during an Ayurvedic cleanse. Looking back, Kourtney says it was a wild experience for them but it made their reunion that much better.

“Oh, my God, it was crazy. But it actually made everything better,” she told Bustle. “Like, if you can’t have caffeine, when you have your first matcha, it’s so good.”

8. Lady Gaga

Back in 2010 when Lady Gaga’s career was taking off, she admitted she was celibate. While talking about her romantic life, she said she didn’t have time to get to know anyone so she was comfortable being single and celibate for a while.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this -- don’t have sex. I’m single right now and I’ve chosen to be single because I don’t have the time to get to know anybody. So it’s okay not to have sex, it’s okay to get to know people. I’m celibate, celibacy’s fine,” she told Daily Mail.

She continued, “It’s OK to be whomever it is that you want to be. You don’t have to have sex to feel good about yourself, and if you’re not ready, don’t do it. And if you are ready, there are free condoms given away at my concerts when you’re leaving!”

9. Orlando Bloom

In 2016, Orlando Bloom chose to be celibate for six months, just before he met his now-fiancée, Katy Perry. He explained that after he told a friend he wasn’t feeling happy, they suggested he abstain from sex.

“‘If you want to be serious about a relationship, go celibate for a few months and figure it out,’” Orlando recalled his friend telling him. “I was going to do three months, but I was really enjoying the way I was relating to women, and to the feminine within myself.”

10. Terry Crews

Terry Crews and his wife Rebecca once went on a three-month “sex fast” while he was dealing with his addiction to pornography. Looking back, he said he struggled with porn for much of his life which led to “some infidelity.” When his wife found out, she wanted to end things but Terry decided to put in the work to save their marriage. During that time, they decided to be celibate.

“I went on a 90-day sex fast [with] her. And people were like, ‘Whoa, that’s crazy!’ But let me tell you something -- what was so beautiful about that, was it took me to a time when I was 12 years old and I liked a girl and I didn’t know anything about sex. But all I did was give her a flower and say, ‘I like you for who you are.’ And it wasn’t about sex. It took us back to those moments. I felt like I was 12 years old again, because sex had been taken out of the equation and it was all about love again,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “I couldn't believe it. It was the best. At first, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is gonna be horrible.’ It was the best thing that we had ever done.”

11. Amber Rose

Amber Rose says she has been celibate for quite a while since she doesn’t enjoy dating or being intimate with other people. She says the dating pool is “worse than ever” now and she has no problem being single.

“[Men are] pretty disgusting out here. They’re f--king gross. Like, I wanna be single for the rest of my life. I don’t want to share my house or my life with anyone. I don’t want anyone around my kids. I don’t want to have sex. It’s so gross. I don’t want it … I’m very happy to not be in my bed with anyone,” Amber said on the Sofia with an F podcast.