A CHRISTIAN couple who waited until they were married to have sex have now ditched the church to become swingers.
Emmy Blaise and her husband Cal realised they preferred raunchy romps over religion over a decade after they wed.
It's a far cry from the early years of their marriage that centred around the "purity culture" of their conservative Christian community.
Emmy explained she was raised in a culture where women were expected to be "fully submissive to their husbands" while having as many kids as possible.
The pair, from New South Wales, Australia, began dating as teenagers after meeting at a church in 2006 - and both vowed to wait until they were married to have sex.
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She and her first love Cal tied the knot at age 19 two years later, before going on to have three children.
The couple said they lived their lives "by the book" to appease prudent churchgoers - despite both wishing they had explored other sexual experiences.
Emmy told news.com.au: " We both grew up in such a restrictive and religious environment, we had no chance to think for ourselves.
"We were each other’s first boyfriend and girlfriend.
"We followed all the rules, and didn’t have sex until marriage and all of that. We were the ‘good ones’.
"It was purity culture. There was a lot of pressure around sexuality. People who were not virgins – even if not by their choice – were deemed dirty and ‘used goods’."
The nurse said she suppressed her emotions for a number of years, before she and Cal noticed they both felt the same burden put on them by their faith.
They "went along the ‘regular’ path" their Christian peers were taking before they began to "question everything we had ever known."
Web designer Cal said: "That’s when we both came to a huge realisation.
"Monogamy didn’t make sense for us, and it wasn’t what we wanted anymore. We wanted to open up our relationship."
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The parents finally took the plunge in 2019 and decided to try swinging with other couples - which proved a huge success.
The dad continued: "We were both a bit nervous, but we decided to give it a go.
'WE WERE LIKE TEENAGERS AGAIN'
"But we have always been the type to talk through and process things together. It was scary, but exciting at the same time.
"Emmy and I had never had that experience of going out and hooking up, so it was like we were teenagers again.
"It felt like we had made up for some lost time, and had experiences that we didn’t get to have when we were younger."
The "liberating" encounters promoted the couple to revolt against their religion's traditions, seeing them enjoy a "happy and healthy" open marriage.
Emmy and Cal even dipped their toe into the world of online adult content - and boast they are now in the top 1 per cent of creators on an X-rated site.
Their newfound sexual freedom also brought the couple to another stark realisation - that they did not want to raise their kids the same way they had been brought up.
Emmy explained: "Religion can often cause people to repress parts of themselves, and they fear being true to who they are.
We casually swing when we have the opportunity, but we are also open to longer-term connections and relationships.
Emmy Blaise
"We want to be the type of parents that their kids can be honest and open with them. We want them to feel that they will always be supported and loved, no matter who they are."
Despite encouraging an open dialogue, they haven't yet broken the news to their little ones about their open marriage.
But the couple say they "would never shy away" from discussing it when the youngsters are old enough to understand.
The mum added: "It’s definitely still taboo these days, not many people are open about it.
"But in saying that, I think it’s a lot easier to be in an open relationship these days.
"Right now, we casually swing when we have the opportunity, but we are also open to longer-term connections and relationships.
"Some would describe that as polyamory and we do identify with that label as well. If one of us found that we had feelings for another person, we would just sit down and discuss everything. We have always been open and honest."
Emmy and Cal want to banish stereotypes surrounding swinging, insisting it is not "just an excuse for cheating."
They say their love is stronger than ever after satisfying their sexual needs with others - and "that will never change."
