Celebrities' Most Intimate Personal Life Confessions

For some celebrities, there's money to be made and esteem to be earned from making fans think about lovemaking. A well-written cinematic love scene can help an actor gain critical acclaim, as was the case with the 2001 film "Monster's Ball." The gritty drama featured an intense, uninhibited intimate scene between Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry, who won an Oscar for her role. Because actors are willing to simulate intimacy for the sake of their art, some interviewers believe this gives them carte blanche to question them about their love lives.

Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt filmed a love scene on a table for the 2016 movie "Passengers," so when they appeared on the "KIIS Summer Fling" radio show to promote the sci-fi romance, host Sophie Monk asked them to share the craziest places they've done the deed. Lawrence deflected the invasive query by joking, "I like being safe. ... That's what really turns me on."

Sex also sells for singers who serenade listeners with sultry love songs to help them get in the mood, but for Harry Styles, the media's obsession with his love life was discomfiting. "I felt so ashamed about it, ashamed at the idea of people even knowing that I was having sex, let alone who with," he told Better Homes & Gardens in 2022. The "Watermelon Sugar" singer eventually shed that shame, but he might not ever share the amount of intimate info that the celebs on this list have.

For years, the press controlled the narrative of Prince Harry's romantic exploits, as he and the other members of the British royal family adhered to their unofficial motto, "Never complain, never explain." The royals usually ignore the tabloids' tawdry tales about their personal lives, so Prince William never addressed the gossip that he lost his virginity to Davina Duckworth-Chad — who is a second cousin of his late mother — during a cruise. (CBS News even referenced the rumors in 2000.) But when Harry stepped down as a working royal, he was finally able to speak for himself — and one of the stories he decided to share was how he lost his virginity.

In his 2023 memoir "Spare," Harry recounted the awkward experience. "She liked horses, quite a lot, and treated me not unlike a young stallion," he wrote. "... Among the many things about it that were wrong: It happened in a grassy field behind a busy pub." He also revealed that the equestrian was older than he. 

Soon, a former horse groomer named Sasha Walpole stepped forward to out herself as the woman Harry had penned a brief paragraph about. "I found it quite funny. It made no difference that it was Harry at all," she told The Sun of their brief liaison. She also complained about the details Harry shared — but willingly added a few of her own, such as the involvement of lots of tequila.

Kelly Ripa and her husband and co-host, Mark Consuelos, are one of those celebrity couples who share TMI about their love lives. And when they talk about what goes on in their bedroom, they often do it in front of a morning television audience. There was the time, for example, when they discussed Consuelos' surly post-coitus temperament during an episode of "Live with Kelly and Ryan."

So, when Ripa published a memoir, her longtime fans had to know that it would include an intimate bedroom story or two, and it will be hard for her to ever top her anecdote about a moment of passion that ended with a hospital stay. In her 2022 book "Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories," Ripa recalled how she lost consciousness while having sex and awoke in the E.R. She learned that two ovarian cysts had caused her scary swoon, and she was surprised to see that her husband seemed more concerned about snacking than a cyst rupturing. "There he is, happily munching on the saltines now and ordering a second apple juice. Mark could be at a movie, or a spa," she wrote (via Haute Living).

Ripa was also horrified by the outfit her hubby had dressed her in: Manolo Blahnik heels, a pair of Consuelos' tear-away workout pants, and a leotard. "It's still baffling to me to this day that this is the best costume for the day that he could find for me," she wrote.

"The O.C." star Rachel Bilson made a candid confession about the big O: She didn't experience one during intercourse until she was 38 years old. "Isn't that crazy?" Bilson said to her "Broad Ideas" podcast guest, comedian Whitney Cummings, in March 2023. However, Cummings said that she was actually around the same age when it happened for her. Jezebel consulted Bilson's well-documented relationship history and determined that she was dating "Barry" actor Bill Hader when she was the aforementioned age. Her previous exes included Adam Brody, who also starred on "The O.C.," and "Star Wars" alum Hayden Christensen.

But lest anyone think that she was elevating one ex and shading others, Bilson soon clarified her comments on an episode of "The Viall Files." She told host Nick Viall, "It has nothing to do with any partners, okay? ... It had to do with me knowing my body. ... Nobody was involved other than myself." However, she had previously spoken about her relationship with Hader on "Broad Ideas," and when she was asked what she missed most about the comedian, it was not his sense of humor or dazzling conversational skills, but a certain appendage. Though she said this with a laugh, Bilson added to her producer, "We can keep that."

Upon further questioning, she also admitted to Viall, "Well, maybe anatomy has a little bit to do with it sometimes." Bilson further revealed that she has had detailed discussions with her mother about the mechanics of the female orgasm and said that she has never faked one.

While Jennifer Coolidge was basking in all of the attention she was getting for her critically acclaimed role in "The White Lotus," the actor regularly fielded questions about her past filmography, as well. This included her role as Stifler's mom in "American Pie," which helped popularize the acronym MILF. In a 2022 interview with Variety, Coolidge revealed that playing a seductive housewife gave her love life a big boost. "I got a lot of sexual action from 'American Pie,'" she deadpanned. However, when her "Thank U, Next" music video co-star, Ariana Grande, interviewed her for Entertainment Weekly a few months later, Coolidge said that she'd jokingly exaggerated her number of romantic partners by placing it at 200. "But it did sort of open up the world to a much broader group of handsome men — and younger men," she confessed.

Coolidge recounted one memorable encounter with a younger man (who was of legal age, she assured Grande). "The next morning, I told him I needed to get a blow dry," Coolidge recalled. "So he was so young, we called his mother to see where I could get a blow dry. It was so weird that happened on the phone, it was very clear that we were in the bed together." But the guy's mom knew just the place, and Coolidge's awkward morning after resulted in her being a satisfied salon customer.

In his 2000 memoir "The Rock Says," Dwayne Johnson wrote, "I've always been attracted to older women, and they've often reciprocated." He shared some examples, including the 18-year-old high school senior named Maria whom he dated at age 14. He was a virgin at the time but convinced Maria that he was sexually experienced, believing that she would be impressed by his boasts about his fictional conquests. "She believed that I had lost my virginity at the age of ten and that women (not just 'girls') had been lining up ever since," he recalled. (Clearly, the fully adult Maria should not have been having such conversations with a 14-year-old to begin with.)

According to Johnson, he and Maria decided to lose their virginities to each other. "We wound up in a public park, on a warm summer night, with a big Hawaiian moon casting a spotlight on our desperate little dance," he wrote. But the moonlight was soon obscured by a spotlight — two police officers in a patrol vehicle had caught them in the act. The cops called Maria to the car and expressed concern for her safety. However, they left when she explained that the guy hiding under the illuminated blanket nearby was her boyfriend. 

In a 2017 interview with Elle, Johnson admitted that his memory of his first time isn't a fond one. "It was a complete nightmare," he said. "Some stories are beautiful, but mine was not."

When "Mother" singer Meghan Trainor spoke about her love life on her "Workin' On It" podcast in April 2023, she revealed that her husband, "Spy Kids" star Daryl Sabara, has BDE. Trainor was talking to Trisha Paytas about how painful sex is for her, but she explained that the issue is unrelated to her revelation about Sabara's anatomy. "I was told I have something called vigimisal or something? Vigisimal? ... Vaginismus!" she said. "I thought that every woman walking around was always in pain during and after sex." 

Trainor was surprised when her doctor informed her that this is not the case; her condition causes the muscles of the vagina to tightly clench when intercourse is initiated, per WebMD, which is why she was in so much agony. However, she was apparently so determined to get pregnant with her second child that she tried to power through the pain. "I f***ing had to ice myself after," the singer recalled, saying that she was finding it difficult to walk.

Trainor learned that her issue wasn't just physical but psychological, as well. In an appearance on the "High Low with EmRata" podcast, she explained to host Emily Ratajkowski, "I think [sex is] really gonna hurt, apparently." The anticipation of pain then causes her to tense up. She also shared an update on what she was doing to treat the condition. "I have to go to physical therapy soon," Trainor said.

"The Newsroom" star Olivia Munn had internet sleuths carefully combing through her relationship history after she criticized an unfortunate ex's performance in the bedroom. "I have this one boyfriend, in particular, that was just the worst, the worst at just having sex," she said in a 2020 interview on Whitney Cummings' "Good For You" podcast. Munn explained that he didn't seem to be all that into having a physical relationship with her, which was not a problem she had experienced before. "It was a dark relationship," she said, adding, "Lights out ... so you don't have to see my face, so you don't have to see that it's a girl." Munn eventually became convinced that her ex was likely gay. Long after they broke up, she revealed that she saw some so-called "evidence" that made her reach this conclusion but didn't say what it was.

Us Weekly compiled a list of Munn's known exes at the time, and there were over half a dozen names on it. They included "Wonder Woman" actor Chris Pine, "Glee" star Matthew Morrison, and NFL player Aaron Rodgers. Queerty, meanwhile, accused Munn of homophobic behavior; she was, after all, speculating about her ex's sexuality, suggesting that certain actions supported her suspicion, and using her insinuation to publicly criticize him. Munn also shared enough details about their love life that the ex in question may have realized that she was talking about him, and if that's the case, it's possible he could have found her remarks deeply hurtful.

Some actors don't enjoy watching their significant others' steamy scenes with other stars. Blake Lively, for example, admitted that she found it difficult to admire Ryan Reynolds and Morena Baccarin's palpable onscreen chemistry in "Deadpool," which was apparently a popular film choice among her fellow passengers during a 2016 flight. In an appearance on "The Tonight Show," she confessed to Jimmy Fallon, "It's kind of torture these days, because I'm on a plane and everywhere I look, every screen is my husband in a sex montage throughout the holidays with another woman."

But according to "Dawson's Creek" star Joshua Jackson, his wife, "Anne Boleyn" actor Jodie Turner-Smith, definitely doesn't mind watching him pretend to get it on with other women, which is something he does with Lizzy Caplan in the Paramount+ series "Fatal Attraction." Jackson told Variety in 2023, "The sex scenes themselves, Jodie kind of enjoys them, actually. It's a weird thing where she's like a voyeur. So that works! If that's your thing — excellent." 

Turner-Smith previously admitted this herself in an interview with Vanity Fair, revealing that she was a fan of Jackson's racier moments in "The Affair." Said the supportive spouse, "I can't wait to see my husband f***ing on screen again. ... I love to see him do stuff where he can continue to lean into the idea of him as the sex symbol that he is, because he's a sex symbol." We stan a proud wifey!

Matthew Perry didn't just throw shade at Keanu Reeves in his 2022 memoir "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing" — the "Friends" star also shared some bleak revelations about his life. He revealed that he began drinking at a young age, once downing half a dozen beers to calm his nerves after a girl expressed an interest in hooking up with him. Because his attempt at making this happen ended in failure, Perry assumed he was impotent. "I failed to make the correlation between the booze and my private parts not working," he wrote.

Perry's belief about his body became an even more painful burden to bear when he met Tricia Leigh Fisher, the half-sister of "Star Wars" actor Carrie Fisher. They began dating when Perry was 18, and when the smitten star told Tricia about his intimate issue, he felt like he was sharing a secret that would spell doom for their relationship. However, Tricia questioned the accuracy of her boyfriend's self-diagnosis and ultimately ended up becoming his first sexual partner. "Sheer glory for two whole minutes," Perry jokingly marveled.

Unfortunately, Perry continued to struggle with feelings of insecurity, telling GQ that he ended many relationships because he was afraid that getting dumped would send him on a downward spiral. "There's 10 women on the face of the planet that I would kill to be married to. Who I've gone out with and broken up with," he confessed.

Fans of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" and the Kardashian-Jenner family's subsequent reality shows are used to hearing Kim Kardashian and her sisters talk about their love lives. In a Season 2 episode of their Hulu series "The Kardashians," Kim shared the story of how she ended up dating comedian Pete Davidson after they appeared together on "Saturday Night Live." She used some erotic initialisms to explain why she wanted to hook up with Davidson, confessing, "I heard about this BDE. ... I was just basically DTF."

Kim and Davidson ended up hitting it off, and although their relationship was short-lived, it was more than just a casual fling. After they started dating, Kim shared another anecdote about Davidson on "The Kardashians." This time, she regaled her family with the touching tale of how Kim's grandmother, MJ — who was conveniently present to hear it — inspired the couple to partake in some hanky-panky at the Beverly Hills Hotel. 

"We were sitting in front of the fireplace just talking for hours and I was like, 'My grandma told me that you really live life when you have sex in front of the fireplace.' And so we had sex in front of the fireplace in honor of you," Kim told MJ. Kim then confessed that the tribute was a bit weird, but MJ just wanted her assurance that it didn't happen in the building's lobby.

When Rihanna sang about enjoying some of the same activities that Anastasia Steele gets introduced to in the "Fifty Shades of Grey" books and film series, that wasn't just lip service. In a 2011 interview with Rolling Stone, she revealed that she has actually tried some of the methods to spice things up in the bedroom that she describes in her hit song "S&M." Said the singer, "Being submissive in the bedroom is really fun. ... I like to be spanked. Being tied up is fun. I like to keep it spontaneous." However, it doesn't sound like she's bothered to build her own fully stocked "Red Room of Pain," as she revealed that procuring Christian Grey's favorite instruments of pleasure and pain from where they are secreted away in her own abode can be too much of a chore. "Sometimes whips and chains can be overly planned — you gotta stop, get the whip from the drawer downstairs," Rihanna said. "I'd rather have him use his hands."

But while Bad Girl RiRi might have an adventurous side when it comes to her love life, casual hookups don't really excite her. "I don't want to wake up the next day feeling guilty," she told Vanity Fair in 2015. "... I'm a woman, I want to have sex. But what am I going to do — just find the first random cute dude ... and then tomorrow I wake up feeling empty and hollow?"

The Jonas Brothers certainly weren't trying to bring Marvin Gaye to the House of Mouse when they first started fielding questions about their love lives. In a 2019 interview with Harper's Bazaar, Nick Jonas recalled what it was like constantly being quizzed about his purity ring. "The question should have been: Is it appropriate for people to talk about a 16-year-old's sex life? It's absolutely not," he said. 

But the Jo Bros became more comfortable broaching the topic of intimacy after they'd been adults for a bit, and during a 2016 Reddit AMA, Joe Jonas even shared the story of how he lost his virginity to "Twilight" star Ashley Greene. His anecdote also served as a PSA about using protection. "I went to our drummer, Jack's room, who was my roommate at the time and I demolished his room looking for [condoms]," Joe wrote. "Found them underneath his underwear drawer. When he came home, he thought somebody broke into his room because his whole room was demolished because I was in dire need."

We're guessing that Greene would have preferred for Joe to keep that recollection of how responsible he was to himself. However, Joe was unapologetic when ET asked him about his decision to share something so intimate and personal about both of their private lives. "I'm not out to hurt anybody, but I think, ultimately, I'm just telling my stories and what I can say from my heart," he said.

After Tiffany Haddish got cast alongside Nicolas Cage in 2022's "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent," the starstruck comedian realized that her first experience rehearsing scenes with her more seasoned co-star wasn't going so well. To break the ice, Haddish informed the "National Treasure" actor that he had played a larger-than-life role in a memorable moment in her life. She'd felt conflicted about sharing her strange story with Cage, fearing that it might freak him out, but desperate times called for desperate measures. "You could tell he was getting irritated," she recalled to Sam Sanders on NPR's "It's Been a Minute" podcast. But she assured Cage that his mood would improve if he just heard her out.

When Haddish was 17, she and a date found themselves in an empty theater while watching the bonkers 1997 action flick "Face/Off," in which the faces of Cage and John Travolta are surgically swapped. Haddish and her date took advantage of the lack of fellow theatergoers and started to get frisky. "As I was achieving a momentous moment that I had never experienced in my life, I opened my eyes — and the eyes of Nicolas Cage are looking into my eyes, super big," she recalled. "... So, that was my first big O." 

Luckily, Haddish's decision to share this information with Cage paid off. "He laughed super hard," she said. On "Late Night with Seth Meyers," Haddish revealed that she worked with Cage so much better after getting that off her chest.

In her 2015 memoir "There Was a Little Girl," model-actor Brooke Shields delved deep into her toxic relationship with her momager mother, her romantic relationships, and the media's obsession with her virginity — which is something she said her mother also cared deeply about. Shields was still a virgin at age 22 and was in a serious relationship with actor Dean Cain. They had met while attending college in Princeton and were head-over-heels in love. "He was incredibly and painfully patient with me regarding sex. But it felt as if Mom was always lording over us," Shields wrote.

When Shields decided that she was ready to lose her virginity to Cain, her mother was drinking downstairs. Shields felt her parent's presence acutely and found herself guilt-ridden and in tears afterward, recalling how she leaped out of bed naked and took off running. "I have no idea where I was going but it was probably to go sleep in another bed so my mother wouldn't find out," she wrote. Cain chased her down and did his best to comfort her, but their relationship ultimately wouldn't survive the ever-looming familial phantom that haunted Shields.

In March 2023, Shields told People that she regretted the way she treated Cain and said that she reached out to offer him an apology many years later. "He just was so loyal and loving and just so in love. And I did not make it easy," she admitted.

Kourtney Kardashian and her husband, Travis Barker, have readily participated in the time-honored Kardashian tradition of sharing TMI about their relationship. In one episode of "The Kardashians," Kourtney told her mother, Kris Jenner, that she and Barker skip their jammies whenever their children are away for the night. "Dude, this morning I did all the dishes completely butt naked," she said.

Naturally, when Kourtney took the Vanity Fair lie detector test in 2022, her sister, Khloé Kardashian, asked her a number of risqué questions about her personal life. One of them was whether Kourtney and Barker had ever gotten caught hooking up somewhere that was not inside their house, and Kourtney answered in the affirmative. "F*** yeah!" Khloé said in response to this revelation. Kourtney also said that she didn't regret getting it on outside of the bedroom, to which her supportive sister replied, "Good for you."

Kourtney confessed to having another adventurous sexual encounter with Barker while they were wearing their 2021 Halloween costumes. Their looks were inspired by Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette's "True Romance" characters, Clarence and Alabama, the latter of which happens to be the name of Barker's daughter. Another big revelation Kourtney made about her and Barker's love life? Her hubby apparently has a foot fetish.

Before that "G.I. Jane" joke and subsequent slap became the scandal du jour in early 2022, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith's Oscars claim to fame was more spicy than sordid. In an interview with Shape (via Page Six), Jada explained why her makeup didn't look as flawless and fresh as it could have at the 2009 Academy Awards, revealing that "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" star was to blame. "In a limo, on the way to the Academy Awards this year, Will started looking at me in this way that drives me wild," she said. "We started kissing passionately, and the next thing I knew, well, let's just say we missed the red carpet and I ended up with almost no makeup on."

The Smiths are apparently fond of getting it on inside a vehicle. While sharing her advice for spouses looking to liven up their marriages, Jada suggested to Redbook that same year that keeping that spark alive can start with a drive — and the destination doesn't have to be the Oscars every time. "Pull over on the side of the road!" she advised couples who lack a limo and driver. Jada had a few additional suggestions that could result in some awkward encounters with friends and co-workers. "Does he have access to his office? Have a fantasy date. Be his secretary!" she said. "Be sneaky. Your girlfriend's house at a party. The bathroom! A guest bedroom! Just switch it up."