INTIMATE workshops with sex experts in an idyllic Croatian retreat have transformed virgin Jason’s life.
The 26-year-old admin assistant was one of 12 adults who threw caution to the wind and signed up for to try and conquer their chastity.
Touchphobic Jason could barely bring himself to graze another person’s hand in the first episode.
Viewers watched him fight his instincts to pull away as a surrogate slowly placed her hand on his, before they switched to a more formal handshake which Jason was much more comfortable with.
Just a few episodes later, a reinvigorated Jason declared “yolo”;; and was the first virgin to strip fully naked in front of the entire group.
This came after he’d spent a session lying entwined with a surrogate in which he playfully ran his hand over her clothed body including her breasts.
The dramatic improvement led him to declare he would leave the experiment as a “sex god”;;, which he now laughs might have been a little premature. Nevertheless, the shift in confidence has been profound.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Jason says the show has been life-changing.
He says: “I’ve met a lot of people now and it’s hard to put into words just how happy I am about this.
“If I’d never done the show, I would still be sitting there, in summer, long sleeves, coat on in Margate. I’d be on the beach with a cold one.
“I know it sounds silly, but for me, I can’t get my arms out, and I can’t talk to people. But now I can talk to people, laugh with people, and I just feel human now. I’m not a freak. I was like, I’m not normal, I hate this, but I feel great.”;;
Like some of his co-stars, Jason took a punt on an application after seeing an advert on Facebook when the show was titled Intimacy Retreat.
A major barrier to sex for Jason was his aversion to physical touch. Though close to his mum, he was never really hugged by her growing up, which he says is due to her own lack of physical affection from her own parents.
He didn’t expect to hear back from producers but when the call came it triggered a “rigorous”;; process in which he was fully vetted and had everything explained to him in depth.
It all became very real when he found himself in with their own intimacy hang-ups.
In episode one, a surrogate demonstrated which saw her pressed up against a pillar.
“It was very American to me,”;; says Jason. “I feel like the British, we’re quite closed off.
“And just to see these American people, who were really comfortable in their skin, and pushing up the wall, I was like, ‘oh my God, what am I doing here?’
“And then I think a few days later, how different I’d be feeling and loving it. It was very daunting at first.
“I can’t lie. I was petrified, and I think when you watch it back, you’ll see that most of us are not looking up there, avoiding eye contact.”;;
BODY IMAGE
A large part of his confidence issues are due to the appearance of stretchmarks on his back.
It’s something that has long made him uncomfortable and he felt more conscious about the group seeing them than his manhood.
He says: “In front of the group was probably more nerve-wracking than the nation watching it, really. I just remember someone had to go up first.
“I thought, you know what, like I said, “yolo”;; (you only live once) and I stood up, got it all out. But it was great.
“It was like a domino effect. More people went up and it was lovely to see. Once you’ve got it out on camera in front of people, nothing will ever bother me now.
“If I can do it on camera, I can do it in person with a woman that I love, or with strangers, it won’t bother me now.”;;
Perhaps more mortifying than dropping a robe in front of a dozen friends was finding out his mum had seen him bare all on the box.
Jason says: “Well, my mum called me upstairs last night, she was like, ‘Jason, come here for a second’. So I went upstairs thinking she’d ask for a cup of tea or something, she was like, ‘I’m letting you know, I’ve just seen your penis on TV’. I was like, ‘oh God’.
“She was like, ‘don’t worry, I was changing nappies, seen it before’.
“It’s easy for random people to see because I’m never going to have to deal with them in public, never going to see them.
“And if I do, oh well, I don’t know them deeply. But for my family and my friends seeing it, I was like, ‘oh God’.
“My mum’s seen the front now, but she said the show is great to see, and it’s quite nice to see a more vulnerable side to me, a more vulnerable side to other people.
“All of my family giving me a lot of compliments about it, not one had any bad thing to say about it. So I’m doing something right.”;;
While Jason remains a virgin, he is more confident than ever he will have sex at some point.
I went upstairs thinking she’d ask for a cup of tea or something, she was like, ‘I’m letting you know, I’ve just seen your penis on TV’. I was like, ‘oh God’.
Virgin Island's Jason, 26
However, he is keen to wait until the attention around the series dies down in case a would-be suitor has an ulterior motive for wanting to sleep with him.
“I don’t want to rush it right now,”;; he says. “Just in case people want to date me because they’re seeing it on TV. I’d rather build a connection, make sure it’s legit, genuine connection, and then go from there.
“What this show is is that virginity isn’t anything to be ashamed of. Don’t be embarrassed of it. It’s something that we all have, and we all eventually will lose. There’s no rush for it.
“If I went out right now, met a girl, lost it, I’d be sitting there thinking, ‘did she only have sex with me because I was on a TV show?’ But at the same time, I don’t think I’m going to lose these skills now, and if I do lose the skills, I’ll put the TV back on, re-watch it, got my sex energy back.”;;
DEEPER MEANING
While the physical act of sex is the ultimate goal for the dozen virgins, it’s the self-discovery along the way, much of it emotional, that often makes for the most interesting moments.
Last night Tom and Louise broke down in their respective therapy sessions as they grappled with their sexuality.
Louise established that she was in fact gay and not bisexual after a revelatory session with a female surrogate who made her feel at ease and unafraid of close contact for the first time.
While self-described “camp”;; Tom laid bare his identity struggles after admitting he enjoyed putting on makeup earlier in the day.
Jason felt emotional watching his new friends be so vulnerable and praised the show for highlighting such issues.
“It’s definitely a rollercoaster of emotions,”;; he says. “Last night I messaged Tom and Louise, I was like, you b*****ds, you both made me cry.
“I don’t normally cry on TV at all. Marley and Me did nothing for me, and I love animals. I could kind of switch myself off from TV, but this is reality.”;;
And it’s not just Jason who’s been moved, others in similar situations have reached out to share their gratitude.
A woman messaged Jason on TikTok explaining how she could relate to his situation and found the programme useful.
He says: “That’s one person messaging me, imagine how many other people it’s actually helped. You’ll have a few trolls here and there, but that’s not the people that you should be focusing your attention on. You should focus your attention on the people who need the help, and the show is actually helping.
“At the end of the day, the show is educational. Yes, it’s entertainment, but it’s got a purpose. Entertainment with a purpose.
“And I feel like it’s evidence. It’s helping at least one person, and that’s great for me.”;;
