Warning: Contains descriptions of domestic violence
A recovering sex addict and former Bachelor contestant has opened up about sleeping with 700 men and the moment she knew she'd reached her lowest point.
Belinda 'Love' Rygier describes herself now as an 'Intuitive Love-Confidence Coach', and shares details about her past in a bid to help others and 'support people dealing with pain and trauma'.
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At the height of her addiction, Rygier admitted sex was 'constantly at the top of [her] mind', even when she was doing something as mundane as food shopping.
In a recent interview with Mail Online, she recalled: "I would be grocery shopping and would think to myself, 'Oh, I wonder if he would be interested?'"
She would find the majority of her sexual partners, which included both men and women, at bars and nightclubs, where she found herself ditching her friends in a bid to hook up with someone.
"I was never self-aware," Rygier explained. "The minute I was out, I was like, 'Where's a hot guy?' Sex is the only addiction I fell for because it was making me feel loved. Love is really what I lacked in my life."
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As her number of partners racked up, Rygier was a 'mistress a couple of time' and even found the idea of a man 'willing to ruin his marriage' to be with her as 'thrilling'.
Looking back, she is 'not proud' of these relationships and of being willing 'to hurt other people'.
The personal coach reached a turning point with her addiction when one of the men she was sleeping with became abusive, but she found herself unable to press charges without fear of getting into trouble herself.
She explained: "When he pushed me down the stairs and locked me in the garage, I had a black eye and they thought my hand was broken. It was pretty bad.
"I went to work and they sent me home. The police came and they said because he had a scratch on his arm from my ring, after I tried to get him off me, we could both go to jail for domestic violence."
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Though the abuse against Rygier was not her fault, the incident spurred her to make a change in her life. She started counselling and self-development work which helped her address her complicated childhood and avoidant-attachment personality, and now she runs bootcamps to help support others.
Her openness about her addiction has led to some judgement from trolls, as well as unwelcome messages involving lewd and sexual comments, but she is determined to continue her work to help people realise love is not a 'competition' or a 'challenge', as is a common belief of sex addicts.
"You have to heal the hurt, love yourself, understand your attachment style and love language to heal," she explained.
You can find out more about Belinda's relationship bootcamp here.
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If you are experiencing domestic violence, please know that you are not alone. You can talk in confidence 24 hours a day to the national domestic violence helpline Refuge on 0808 2000 247
Topics: Sex and Relationships, Mental Health, Health
Emily Brown