When she was 32, Alora Denon Campbell felt ashamed to admit that she was a late bloomer in terms of romantic relationships and that she was still a virgin. Not only had she never been in a relationship, but she also had never had her first kiss, according to the New York Post. “It was a great shame. Society does everything to make you feel ashamed and that something is wrong with you,” she said in an interview at the time.

However, today, a year later, she was overjoyed to hear that actress Rebel Wilson, at age 44, shared that she lost her virginity at 35. Wilson revealed this in her upcoming memoir, admitting that she often lied about losing her virginity to avoid being seen as “the biggest loser.”

“People think that if you haven’t lost your virginity by a certain age, if you haven’t been in a relationship, or if no one has ever been crazy about you, you must be some kind of freak. Everyone will think something is wrong with you,” Campbell explained.

“There’s this unfair context that those who ‘bloom later’ are miserable, even though they were simply exploring life differently. Ultimately, Rebel leads an extraordinary life, and this revelation is just a small part of who she is,” she added.

Campbell stated that she wasn’t avoiding relationships, it simply didn’t happen for her.

“It came down to being truly focused on living my life and that no one was hitting on me. So, I concentrated on things that I knew brought me joy and invested my energy in activities that I knew would bring me well-being,” she explained. As the years passed, Campbell began to feel she was neglecting romance in her life, while the shame gradually built up.

Eventually, she completely disregarded her romantic life, convinced she would remain alone with her secret forever. But when she opened a TikTok account for fun during the pandemic, she discovered she wasn’t the only one. She came across other women who were also virgins, even older than she was.

“For the first time, I heard someone openly admit to that life experience, and I was absolutely shocked. Until then, I thought I was the only one on the planet,” she said. After connecting with a few other women who were also virgins, she decided to challenge herself to go on eight dates by Easter 2023.

Campbell shared her secret publicly, posting it to her 50 TikTok followers at the time. Although she didn’t expect much, the video went viral and received many positive reactions.

Denon now has about 37,000 followers and keeps them updated on her journey as a virgin in her 30s. Along the way, she started a Facebook group called “Late Bloomers: Survival Guide,” which now has nearly 2,000 members seeking advice and sharing their stories about their experiences or lack thereof.

Since her viral video, Campbell has dated her first boyfriend, had her first kiss, and built a community of women who started dating late just like her.”Some flowers bloom later. Now I know there’s nothing shameful about it. It’s just a part of who I am,” she concluded.