If you haven’t noticed by now, waiting is in again. More and more couples are choosing to put sex on hold in favor of finding love and a worthy life partner first. (And, we couldn’t be more proud.) Many of our readers have spoken out about their decisions to press pause on their sex lives and some expressed concern about how difficult dating can be once you’ve made the call. BlackCelibacy.com founder Jeremy Billingsley noticed the same thing and put his entrepreneurial mind to work. The site was born and it caught on fast. Now as he continues to try to get the word out that BlackCelibacay.com is a convenient place to meet friends or lovers who share your values, Billingsley’s proud of what BlackCelibacy.com is offering our community.
ESSENCE.COM: How did BlackCelibacy.com come to be?
JEREMY BILLINGSLEY: One Sunday I was in church and the pastor was preaching about love and fornication and he was really trying to direct the sermon to the singles there, and I though to myself, outside of the church there really aren’t that many places where celibate singles can go that embraces that lifestyle and meet others on the same accord as them. When like-minded singles can get together you’re going to get better results.
ESSENCE.COM: Who is it for?
BILLINGSLEY: BlackCelibacy.com is for anyone who is celibate or considering celibacy. And it’s for those looking to meet others with the same values. We’re growing now. There aren’t just Black people on there. We actually have people of all races on the site.
ESSENCE.COM: How does it differ from other Christian dating sites?
BILLINGSLEY: We are a faith-based site but our mission is celibacy.
ESSENCE.COM: How big is the community?
BILLINGSLEY: We’re a little bit shy of 4,000 members. We’re starting to hear a lot of success stories,
ESSENCE.COM: You sound so deeply committed to the mission? What inspires you?
BILLINGSLEY: I’m married with three kids. One of the reasons I did this is because over 70 percent of Black kids are born into single-family households and the HIV and AIDs crisis. I wanted to do something different that would make a difference in the future but we’ve been deeply embraced within the Black community.
ESSENCE.COM: What do you want others to know about the site?
BILLINGSLEY: It’s for anyone. With our site, you can actually meet celibate single in your area with the same moral values as you. We promote those relationships and you can actually meet new friends on there as well. We just want to bring those people together in a positive way.
Ladies who are choosing to wait: Would you feel more comfortable meeting men who an online dating site that focuses on celibacy? Let’s discuss below!