Sex addiction drove me to bed with 700 men... Now I've found love at 44 - and told him everything. This is why he didn't walk away

A woman who struggled with sex addiction in her 20s and 30s - sleeping with more than 700 men - has finally found her happy ending with the man of her dreams at 44.

Belinda Rygier became engaged in  over the weekend to her long-time partner Drew Jansen - who she says is completely accepting of her past because 'it is not a part of me anymore'.

Rygier, a former contestant on The Bachelor Australia, previously opened up to the Daily Mail in 2022 about how she sought 'love and validation' through hundreds of encounters with different men during a difficult period in her life.

Following Jansen's proposal, Rygier told us that her fiancé never once judged her for her past, and that she was upfront on their first date about her sexual history.  

'My fiancé Drew is just incredible,' she said.

When things are challenging, he doesn't run away. He literally looks at what is going on. We work together to solve all those challenges. He is my biggest supporter.

'I have never felt a love and connection like this in my entire life. I'm a very open book, I am not someone who hides things, because I want people to choose me for who I am... not have any surprises.' 

'Straight away he knew about it [my addiction] after we matched on Bumble,' she added, noting that while their relationship has faced 'challenges', her sexual past doesn't faze Jansen because he had an ex-girlfriend with a similar past.

'Before we met, he was with a woman who had a few partners,' Rygier explained.

'He was a bit worried and then someone told him, "You might someday meet someone who has more than this." It was almost like a sign from the gods saying your future wife will have had more [partners] and you should not judge!'

However, Jansen's acceptance of her past did require some 'deep conversations', Rygier admits.

'He doesn't judge me because he knows who I am. I slept with those men because I was seeking love and validation... That's in the past, it is not a part of me anymore,' she added.

'He loves me for who I am, I love him for who he is [and] we choose each other every single day.'

When they first started dating, Rygier and Jansen had an open and honest conversation about sexual health, with both agreeing to get an STI check.

She revealed that when she first met Jansen, she was upfront about her sexual history - and he admitted it didn't faze him because he had an ex-girlfriend with a similar past