Celibate celebrities

Britney Spears

Justin Timberlake made headlines when he scoffed at his ex-girlfriend Britney Spears’ alleged virginity. “She lost her virginity a while ago -- and I should know,” Timberlake told a reporter.

In 2003, Spears finally admitted she was no longer a virgin, telling W magazine, “I’ve only slept with one person my whole life. I thought he was the one. But I was wrong.”

Spears former lawyer, Eric Ervin, told Us Weekly that Britney’s purity was a mere “PR blitz,” and that she had actually lost her virginity at 14.  (Frank Micelotta / Getty Images)

Nick Jonas

The youngest Jonas, who turns 16 next week, seems be getting more action than his older brothers. He reportedly dated -- and broke the heart of -- Miley Cryus, and is currently seeing Disney Channel star Selena Gomez. His ring, which he got at Disney World, is still intact, however. He told US Weekly that if nothing else, the rings are “just one of our ways of kind of like being different than everybody else out there.”  (Scott Gries / Getty Images)

Paris Hilton

Sure, it was a leaked sex tape that first thrust Paris Hilton into the public eye, but in 2006, the heiress announced that she planned to remain celibate for one year.

She told British GQ in 2006: “People think I sleep with everyone, but I’m not like that. Kissing is all I do. I’m not having sex for a year. I’ve decided. ... I’ll kiss, but nothing else.”

We’ll let you decide how long a person has remain celibate to “re-virginize” herself.  (Charley Gallay / Getty Images)

Jessica Simpson

Jessica Simpson used her image as a virgin-til-marriage to help turn her into a pop star in an age when Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera dominated headlines.

She told her story to Teen People in 2000 and told Cosmopolitan a year later: “I believe my soul and my faith are what’s sexy about me. It’s all about what’s inside.”

Former hubby Nick Lachey has never refuted the story.  (Peter Kramer / Associated Press)

Joe Jonas

How long lead singer Joe Jonas will keep his chastity ring on his finger while Taylor Swift is on his arm is anyone’s guess, but he told Details magazine that the rings symbolize “a promise to ourselves and to God that we’ll stay pure ‘til marriage.”

He later told Newsweek that people are surprised -- “(They) are, like, ‘No way, that’s impossible” -- but called the brothers’ choice “pretty awesome.”  (John Haeger / Associated Press)

Miley Cyrus

When it comes to her feelings about premarital sex, the Disney megastar doesn’t mince words.

“I like to think of myself as the girl that no one can get, that no one can keep in their hand,” Cyrus told TV Guide. “Even at my age, a lot of girls are starting to fall and I think if [staying a virgin] is a commitment girls make, that’s great.”

Like the Jonas Brothers, Cyrus expresses her commitment to chastity by wearing a promise ring.  (Bryan Bedder / Getty Images)

Terence Howard

In 2007, after marrying and divorcing the same woman twice, Oscar-winner Terence Howard told Elle Magazine that he planned to remain celibate until and unless he remarried.

“I don’t believe in premarital sex,” Howard explained. “It enabled me to date three or four women at the same time, because as long as I wasn’t having sex with them, I could always just walk away.”  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Kevin Jonas

Kevin, 20, the eldest Jonas, explained to Britain’s the Daily Mail that “the rings he and his brothers wear are “a constant reminder to live a life with values. For me, it’s a personal thing. I’m not going to comment on the way other people live their lives. That’s up to them. Wearing these rings is a private decision that we made.”

His ring is the most blinged out, having come from Tiffany’s.

“It’s pretty rock ‘n’ roll,” he told Details magazine.  (Peter Kramer / Associated Press)