9 Celebrities Who Wore Purity Rings
Whips and chains might excite Rihanna, but for many of pop's biggest stars, abstinence was the one and only choice — and they had the jewelry to prove it.
Ten years ago, in 2008, purity rings were nothing short of a phenomenon, and found their way onto the sexless fingers of The Jonas Brothers, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus and Jordin Sparks, just to name a few. The baubles were a sign to the world that their wearers were waiting until marriage to do the deed, and while most celebs eventually abandoned the quest to stay pure (hormones are a killer!), a few managed to uphold their chaste vows.
A 2018 story in Jezebel's The Muse said the rise of the purity ring a decade back may have signaled Disney's attempt (many of its stars were wearers) to compete with more scandalous acts.
“There’s a real fear of female sexuality, female desire and I think it makes perfect sense for [Disney] to want to encourage stars to talk about things that happen to also intersect with tenets of popular Christianity,” Morgan Genevieve Blue, author of Girlhood on Disney Channel: Branding, Celebrity, and Femininity, told the site. “Family values, Christian morality — it’s especially useful for parents who are attempting to control what their children consume, media- and merchandise-wise.”
Yikes. Well, at least most of the rings looked good? Check out nine celebs who used to wear purity rings — from Britney Spears to Jessica Simpson — and tell us if you're surprise by any in the comments.