Virgin until 29, Tamera Mowry Once Broke up with Husband & Dated Others while Staying Celibate

Tamera Mowry had an unusual courtship with her husband, and even though they looked like the perfect couple, there were challenges, and they once broke apart. Years later, the couple opened up about their issues.

Tamera Mowry met her husband Adam Housley while they were both students thanks to the intervention of one of her professors, but she just gave her email because she thought she would be able to let him down easily.

Of course, that didn't happen, and the two of them found that they wanted to be together. The spark grew with time and surprisingly so because Tamera had decided when she was 29 to be celibate until marriage.

After marriage, they faced a few challenges in their relationship, and at some point, they were separated for some time. The couple weathered the storms and are now able to share more private details about them decades later. Here's a dish on all their love life and noble romance.

THE BEGINNING

Tamera Mowry was introduced to the man she married by her Economics professor, Dr. Robert Sexton, while she was a student at Pepperdine University — the same one Adam Housley graduated from a couple of years before.

Adam had been visiting one day, and the professor had been teasing him about who he was seeing; Adam had revealed that he was single at the time, and the professor decided to play matchmaker.

Still, it had been Adam who pointed to her photo, which had been pinned on the wall, along with her twin sister's and a couple of others. The professor had told him she was a twin and that she was the single one.

Later on, he reached out to Tamera, telling her a guy was interested in her; she wasn't about all that, though, focused as she was on her career, so she told the professor to give Adam her email.

That way, she could let him down easy; her defenses were up, but when Adam's email came in, and it began with "I don't usually do this," she found herself replying.

Years later, while they spoke about it in an interview, she called it a "smart move" because she had not been expecting something so genuine.

Adam also admitted during the discussion that it had been his first time emailing a woman to get her attention for romantic purposes. He had no idea she was a famous figure when he met her until he looked her up.

When the two finally met, Adam was so nervous he spilled water. That and the fact that at that point, they had been exchanging emails left her feeling comfortable.

Their romance blossomed even though Tamera had chosen to remain celibate until marriage at the age of 29 — she had reportedly felt too much guilt after the sex, but luckily Adam understood.

They dated for about six years before they eventually tied the knot. Of course, her lack of sexual intercourse in her younger years did not mean she was clueless about the whole activity.

Tamera knew precisely how what to do because she experimented on her own and that knowledge helped her skip the awkward learning curve associated with virgins. When she spoke about it, she said:

"So as you know, I've waited a really long time to have sex. But the thing is, is I knew what I liked and what I wanted..."

Tamera also admitted in a past interview that her husband loved that about her and that it gave their sex life a major boost — all she had to do was ask.

AN INTERLUDE

As things got more serious between Tamera and her husband, they decided that they had to know if their relationship was God's plan for them before things could go further. She was called many names that broke her heart, and it did get to her for some time.

To that end, the pair took a break and stayed apart for almost a year before their marriage. They agreed to do the right thing by God and remain celibate until they were wedded.

To keep that up, they both had to live in different houses, and Tamera thinks surrounding herself with women and friends of like minds was of great help in maintaining her determination.

Her twin sister Tia was one of those women. Some years ago, when Larry King asked her about what she thought about her sister's decision to be celibate, Tia revealed that she had lost hers earlier at 25.

Of course, this was because she had found her soulmate in Cory Hardrict. Like Tamera, she had also decided to abstain from sex, but her decision had less to do with her religious faith and more to do with her need to know if her would-be husband really cared about her.

She knew Cory was the one for her when he asked permission to even kiss her; his honorable personality and faithfulness to God were two other things that convinced her.

Meanwhile, Tamera has praised her husband for understanding her need to stay faithful to the covenant she made with her God, and it reassured her that he was really the one.

After six years of dating, Adam decided one day that he no longer had to wait to ask her hand in marriage; they had been in Venice, Italy, planning to go out for dinner when he popped the big question.

She would later admit that she knew that something had been up because on the day before he proposed, Tamera says he was quieter, as opposed to his usual chatty self.

Of course, she said yes, and the two went on to plan a three-day-long marriage ceremony that saw about 360 guests in attendance, all of whom were handpicked by the couple.

They wanted the marriage to be a smooth blend of love, happiness, and general good vibes, and they were able to pull it off. There were a lot of pictures, many wardrobe changes and enough drinking to make some people retch but all in all, it was a dreamy occasion.

THE CHALLENGES THEY FACED

Left to their machinations, Tamera and Adam could have remained happy, untouched in their romantic bubble. That was too much to ask for because soon after their marriage, they started receiving backlash from netizens who denounced their interracial marriage.

It was a painful period for Tamera, who struggled to understand why people chose to look beyond the love they had for each other just to spew hatred and toxicity. She once tearfully admitted:

"I've never experienced so much hate ever in my life"

She was called many names that broke her heart, and it did get to her for some time. However, she recovered after some time because she had a good support system, and her mother had already warned her about it happening.

Tamera had countered her back when they spoke about it, saying nobody would care, but she later realized just how entrenched racism still is in society.

As far as the interracial dynamic between herself and Adam is concerned, Tamera really struck gold with him. His openness to unlearning toxic habits was refreshing for her, and even her family sang his praises after they met him.

THEIR FAMILY NOW

Tamera and Adam have been married for more than a decade now, and their love has not waned. Indeed, it only seems to be waxing stronger, and Tamera has even admitted in the past that she loves him now more than ever.

The pair have two kids. The first was a boy born in November 2012 and named Aden John Tanner, while the second was female, and they called her Ariah Talea. She was born in July 2015.

Towards the end of 2020, Tamera left her role as one of the co-hosts on "The Real" and has since distanced herself — not by a lot, of course — from Hollywood and its drama.

She now enjoys life with her husband in their home in Napa while she pursues her passion for casting and producing. It's not bustling city life, and their distance from the chaos of their famous lives has helped their kids have a sense of normalcy.

She hopes to have made more headway in her career as a producer and mother in the future. No doubt she'll have her way — the Mowrys always do.