Jane the Virgin, the CW’s wonderful hourlong comedy about a young woman who becomes pregnant via accidental artificial insemination before she’s ever had sex, has always contained a mystery in its title. Was it a prophecy that Jane would remain abstinent for the duration of the series? Or was it merely a pithy summary of the show’s premise that would become outdated once Jane finally decided between her two competing love interests?
The show’s creator, Jennie Snyder Urman, has revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that Jane will finally lose her virginity in the show’s forthcoming third season. “It’s in the first half of the season, and it’s quite a big episode for us,” she added. To fans of the show, this announcement will likely come as a huge relief, both because we are very fond of Jane and want her to be happy, and because it simply doesn’t seem realistic that Jane, who got married to her longtime boyfriend Michael at the end of last season, could possibly remain celibate for much longer.
One of the many wonderful things about Jane the Virgin is that, in spite of the show’s telenovela-inspired plotlines, Jane’s experiences with and beliefs about sex have always rung very true to life. Her commitment to remaining chaste until marriage, rooted in a promise her grandmother extracted from her when she was little, has evolved as she’s dated multiple men, become a mother, and learned that her abuela wasn’t a virgin when she got married. Her rash decision last season to lose her virginity in a one-night-stand with a hot former thesis adviser—followed by her inability to stop crying once she actually got to his apartment, which put a damper on things—were a poignant reflection of how momentous sex sometimes feels, even when you wish you could take it less seriously. And the glee and nervous disbelief of Jane and Michael on their wedding night—moments before Michael got shot by the series’ supervillain—struck exactly the right note for a couple who have been together of and on for four years without having sex.
Michael’s fate, of course, hangs in the balance between Season 2 and Season 3, and it’s unclear whether Jane will lose her virginity to her new husband or to someone else, be it Rafael or a new character. “You’ll meet someone from Jane’s past, before she met Michael,” Urman told Entertainment Weekly with Matthew Weiner-level coyness. She also implied, somewhat cryptically, that she wants to avoid the Hollywood tendency of portraying a couple’s first time together as perfect and mutually satisfying: “We want to give real expectations, knowing that it doesn’t always come together all at once.” I wouldn’t expect anything less from Jane the Virgin.
