Another season of The Bachelor, another season of interesting characters. I fancy myself just like the Bachelor or Bachelorette — I like to get to know the contestants, too. One of the most interesting ones so far is Bachelor contestant Christen, who revealed she's a virgin quite early (on The Bachelor introduction special, to be exact). She said it’s because of her faith that she's chosen to abstain from sex. And, that's totally her choice. So, I’m here to say it — The Bachelor fans need to respect Christen and her decision, just as much as the producers do when editing the show and Nick will need to if/when he finds out.
After all, does it really matter in the big picture of The Bachelor that Christen has never had sex? Nick's pretty open about sex, which we know from his time on Kaitlyn's Bachelorette season. And, since he seems to know how important sex is to people, I feel like he will respect her decision. She has every right to make her own choices about her sexual life. Hopefully the producers and fans do the same when it comes to Christen's choice. In the past, virginity (or lack thereof) has been a big topic on the show with contestants like Ashley Iaconetti, who is sometimes best known for being a virgin on the show — even though she's a lot more than just her sexual history. Becca Tilley also revealed she was virgin during her time on the show. Both women are very accomplished, intelligent people, but often the takeaway from their time on The Bachelor is too focused on that they'd never had sex. They, and Christen, deserve better than that.
It probably all comes down to Nick’s reaction — if Nick doesn’t seem uncomfortable or care in a negative way about Christen’s sexual choices, I think the producers will leave it as a footnote — and hopefully the fans will too. If he makes a big deal about it (or if she keeps talking about how Nick should take her v-card or something), perhaps it will be a bigger plot point. The bottom line is that this decision is Christen’s to make and Christen’s alone, and everyone should be respectful of that. How much she does or doesn't want to talk about it should be up to her, and fans (and the producers) need to let her draw her own boundaries this season.
