Olympian Lolo Jones says being open about her virginity 'killed' her dating life

The 37-year-old hurdler and bobsledder said publicly announcing she was a virgin has "killed" her dating life.
Jones publicly spoke out about waiting until marriage to have sex for many years, including a 2012 interview where she said her virginity was a "gift I want to give to my husband."
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Olympian Lolo Jones says being open about her virginity has ruined her dating life.

Jones, 37, has been public about waiting until marriage to have sex for years. But speaking to Kevin Heart on Tuesday on his "Cold as Balls" series , the Olympic hurdler and bobsledder said being so candid "was a mistake."

"That killed all my dates after that," Jones said. "Like didn't even have a chance. Before, at least I had a chance. Before, I'd like, tiptoe. 'Okay, when's a good time to tell him? Do I wait until he sees my personality a little bit? Or do I just drop the bomb?'"

Jones, who competed in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2014 Winter Olympics, is still unmarried.

In a 2012 interview on HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel," Jones said her virginity was a "gift I want to give to my husband."

"But please understand, this journey has been hard. There's virgins out there, I'm gonna let them know, it's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. Harder than training for the Olympics, harder than graduating from college, has been to stay a virgin before marriage," she said.

In her recent interview with Hart, Jones said being a virgin put her at a "disadvantage" while competing in sports.

"Having sex actually helps you as an athlete, a female athlete," she said. "So I'm running at a disadvantage."

Contrary to a longstanding myth, having sex does not affect an athletes' performance, according to a 2018 study and a separate 2019 study .

Jones, however, joked that with no "pressure release," she has a "higher level of intensity."

"Everybody knows me as [being] stressed out," she said.

Jones is currently training to compete in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and recently told Fansided that it has been "tough."

"We talk a lot about my age. I am competing against girls that are 10 years younger than me. I'm feeling the aches and pains of basically all the times I've crashed in a bobsled at 90 miles an hour, every hurdle hit I've had," she toldFansided. "So it's built up, but what's great about it is the fact that I'm super strong and determined to finish out my goals."