Sex, Dating, and Jesus: What Now?

This isn’t your grandma’s church talk on “biblical womanhood.” In this episode, I sit down with four divorced Christian women—Diana, Loretta, Lisa, and Marie—to unpack the sticky, often squirmy conversation around sex, dating, purity culture, and what it all means now that we’ve ditched the toxic marriage and are figuring out what we actually want.

Heads up: this is not a how-to guide for your post-divorce sex life. We’re not handing out purity rings or condoms. This is an open, judgment-free, thoughtful conversation about the messy intersection of desire, faith, and freedom.

Key Takeaways:

• Sex as a “duty” is a massive church-induced scam. Most of us were taught to “submit” and serve our husbands—without any conversation about pleasure, consent, or autonomy. That’s not holy. That’s control.
• Purity culture wrecked us. Whether you read Passion and Purity with a highlighter or came in late via Focus on the Family propaganda, the fear-based messages about sex left many of us feeling ashamed, confused, or broken.
• Desire isn’t sinful. In fact, as Marie shares, our desires are often holy breadcrumbs leading us toward the life God actually wants for us: connection, safety, joy, embodiment.
• Safety is non-negotiable. If you’re not enthusiastically consenting, it’s a no. Period.
• Dating after divorce is a weird buffet. Think: civil engineers, gay best friends, and “I’d rather be watching Netflix alone” moments. Still, it’s helping us learn how to trust ourselves again.
• You’re not spiritually defective if you don’t want sex—or if you do. Normalize your own experience, whatever it is.
• You don’t need a man to be whole. Turns out you’re already a whole dang loaf of bread, not someone’s missing rib. 

Read the full show notes, get the journal questions, and/or ask Natalie a question here

Related Resources:

• Flying Higher (https://joinflyinghigher.com) is my live mentorship program for Christian women pursuing increased confidence, emotional management, relational health and empowered self-development.
• Feel like a hot mess after divorce? This 5-Day Workshop will teach you a mind-shift tool to help you learn a powerful way to manage your thoughts and emotions in order to navigate adult decisions with clarity and peace. 
• Listen to Diana’s podcast, the Renew Your Mind Podcast. 
• Connect with Marie on her blog, Live Like it Matters, and website, Spiritual Direction with Marie.
• Read Sheila Wray Gregoire’s The Great Sex Rescue.
• Check out one of my Flying Free Podcast episodes, “What to Do if You’re Married to a Fool.”