On the latest episode of her ‘Broad Ideas’ podcast, Bilson said she’s usually a “people-pleaser” who “puts the dude first” — but not necessarily in the bedroom
Rachel Bilson continues to share her frank thoughts on sex — even when she worries it’ll make look like an “a–hole.”
The O.C. alum, 41, revealed Monday that she has “never” faked an orgasm — but as a self-described “people-pleaser,” she wonders if that reflects on her negatively.
“I’m like, ‘Am I an a–hole?’” she asked on the latest episode of her podcast Broad Ideas podcast. “I start to go into that people-pleasing thing. Like, am I just a d— because I never gave [my partners] that? It goes against my whole nature of being, like, a people-pleaser and putting the dude first.”
Bilson also re-addressed the fact that it took a “very long time” for her to have an orgasm from penetrative sex. “And then it finally happened,” she said, “and it was like, OK, the floodgates have opened.”
“People put that kind of orgasm on a pedestal because it’s so much harder to achieve,” she continued. “Mostly it was about me and my body and being comfortable and figuring out position. … It’s [about] learning your body.”
The former Hart of Dixie star made headlines in March when she revealed to Whitney Cummings on the podcast that she didn’t have her first orgasm until she was “about 38” years old. “Isn’t that crazy?” she reflected.
Later, she clarified that her comments had “nothing to do with any partner.” The actress dated her O.C. costar Adam Brody for most of the show’s run, then had a nearly 10-year relationship with Star Wars star Hayden Christensen. She also dated Saturday Night Live alum Bill Hader in 2019.
Bilson says she’s dealt with professional repercussions for speaking openly about sex. In a May episode of the Women on Top podcast, Bilson shared that she prefers the missionary position because she wants to be “f—ing manhandled.” She subsequently claimed that she “lost a job” over the comments and the way they were “spun in the press.”
“A job got taken away from me because I was speaking candidly and openly about sex in a humorous way,” she said on Broad Ideas. “A single mom, a woman, lost a job because they were being candid and honest and the subject was sex.”
Bilson, who shares a daughter with Christensen, has always spoken candidly about her sexual experiences and preferences.
“The things that my friends and I talk about shouldn’t be taboo, you know?” she stated on Yahoo! Life’s The Unwind. “It should feel like a safe space to be open, because so many people go through similar things. And what’s better than to have a support system, or feel like you’re being heard and having a space to do so?”
As for her ability to achieve sexual satisfaction, Bilson shared on Broad Ideas that “now I can [orgasm]. Different partners, I’ve been able to.”