Reality TV star’s shocking year of celibacy: How Davina Rankin’s brave choice is redefining her life
A former Married At First Sight star has revealed intimate details about her sex life.
Entertainment
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Former Married At First Sight star Davina Rankin says she has just marked a year of celibacy after she decided to flip the script and focus on herself rather than “wasting time” on other people.
Rankin, 31, previously made headlines for her involvement in a “cheating” scandal on the reality TV show before going on to become a children’s book author and podcaster.
“I’m very proud of myself,” Rankin said of her celibacy. “This is something that I thought would be beneficial for me, but I didn’t realise how beneficial it would be until a year later.”
Rankin said the decision emerged from a need to confront negative feelings following her split from her ex-husband Jaxon Manuel in late 2022.
“I found myself going into different spirals of loneliness, and then self-pity and all this kind of stuff,” she said.
She then began to question her reliance on external distractions and brought on the realisation: “I should learn to be OK by myself.”
“I’d be like, ‘Oh, should I go on a dating app? Or should I text my ex?’ And then I thought to myself, why do I need to feel like I need a distraction?” she said. “So I decided (celibacy) would be a really good goal for me to just put my mind to it, and really just buckle up and do some of the inner work.”
She said the journey “took the pressure off” feeling as though she had to find validation.
“If I’m not going to be having casual sex, and if I’m not looking for a relationship, I don’t really need to be wasting time on other people right now,” she said.
Rankin said she found herself with more time and energy to focus on personal interests and meaningful relationships.
“I’ve smashed so many books over the last year, more than I’ve ever, ever had in my life,” she said.
Rankin said it was a journey of reclaiming her sexuality on her terms, a theme she plans to explore further in an upcoming episode of her podcast ‘Who Me’.
She said the experience not only transformed her personal life but also her role as a mother and she hopes to impart the values of self-love and autonomy to daughter, Mila-Mae, 4.
She also said she wasn’t interested in dating for now.
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