For many, losing their virginity is a significant moment — and now actress Rebel Wilson is opening up about her own experience.
In a candid revelation, she shares how it happened and even names the well-known person she was with when she lost her virginity at the age of 35.
Rebel’s candid take on virginity
Rebel Wilson has always done things on her own terms — and that includes her sex life. In her memoir Rebel Rising, the Bridesmaids star dives deep into the most personal moments of her life — including the one when she lost her virginity at 35.
The revelation caught the attention of fans and media alike when the book was released, as Wilson candidly refers to her partner only as “Mickey.”
Now 45, the Australian actress told People she made the decision to include the story in hopes of reassuring others, especially younger readers.
“Not everybody has to lose their virginity as a teenager,” she says. “People can wait till they’re ready or wait till they’re a bit more mature. And I think that could be a positive message.”
Wilson wants to flip the script on the pressure many feel around sex, especially in their teens.
“You obviously don’t have to wait until you’re in your thirties like me, but you shouldn’t feel pressure as a young person,” she continues.
“I’m a late bloomer”
When she was younger, Wilson went out of her way to avoid any talk about sex, often dodging questions about her virginity because she felt embarrassed.
”Normally I would just leave the room when the conversation was happening,” she said. ”And then the people that said, ‘Oh, at 24, it’s so late.’ And then I’m sitting here thinking, ‘Oh my God, my number’s 35. What the hell? I’m going to look like the biggest loser.’”
Now, Wilson reflects on the pressure she felt and how different things might have been if she’d grown up in today’s world.
“I’m a late bloomer,” she admitted in the interview with People and continued: “But if I were 20 years younger, I think my exploration of my sexuality would have been very different.”
Rebel Wilson lost her virginity to?
So who exactly was “Mickey,” the man Rebel Wilson shared that intimate first-time moment with? Well, a new New York Times Q&A may have just cleared that up. The interviewer brought it up directly: “You write in the book that you didn’t even tell Mickey Gooch Jr., your former boyfriend, that he was your first.”
Wilson’s honest reply? “Well, he was the first person to read it. So he knows now.”
Gooch, who appeared alongside Wilson in the 2016 comedy How to Be Single, had no idea — until now.
During one appearance on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, the Pitch Perfect star opened up about the decision to share such a private moment in her memoir.
“Nobody knew that about me, and I just thought, ‘If I’m going to write a memoir, I’m just going to put everything in it,’” she said. “So the first person (to find out) was the editor of the book, Mindy.”
When Hoda Kotb asked what exactly she was embarrassed about, Wilson didn’t miss a beat — joking, “Well, now, the headline.”
Who is Mickey Gooch Jr.
Wilson also also shared that watching the comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin, starring Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, and Seth Rogen, had a surprising impact on her.
“I thought, ‘Well, maybe if I lose my virginity before 40 it won’t be that bad,’” she joked.
Mickey Gooch Jr. is an American actor originally from New Jersey who now calls Los Angeles home. He’s best known for his roles in Deported, The Trial of the Chicago 7, and The Head Thieves. In 2015, he was romantically linked to Rebel Wilson, and the two later appeared together in the 2016 comedy How to Be Single, alongside Dakota Johnson.
Rebel Wilson is currently married to Ramona Agruma. The couple went public with their relationship in June 2022, got engaged in February 2023, and tied the knot twice — first in Italy in September 2024, and again in Australia that December.
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