For years, Rebel Wilson believed love — and desire — were for other people. “As a big girl,” she wrote, “I thought no one would ever truly find me attractive.”

But at 35, the Australian actress made a decision that changed her life. In her new memoir Rebel Rising, she opens up about losing her virginity — not as a teenager, but as a confident woman finally ready to feel love. Her first time was with actor Mickey Gooch Jr., though he never knew it then. “I high-fived myself afterward,” she wrote. “It was about courage, not perfection.”

Rebel revealed she waited so long out of fear and self-doubt. That changed when her mother was diagnosed with cancer. “Life is short,” she realized. “I didn’t want to miss out on love — or living.”

Their romance didn’t last, but the experience gave her a new kind of strength. “For the first time, I wasn’t living in my head. I was living in my body — and loving it.”

Now engaged to designer Ramona Agruma and raising a daughter via surrogate, Rebel says she hopes young women learn from her story: “You don’t have to rush. Wait until you’re ready — love has no deadline.”

❤️ Sometimes the bravest thing we can do… is finally believe we’re worthy of being loved.