Is it really possible to wait to have sex until marriage? We know the struggle is real! Friends, we want to encourage you to develop your own sexual ethic that is deeply rooted, free of shame, and thought through.
Today our two guests, Angela Zatopek and Carson Blair, have just such an encouraging story to share with us!

Angela is a good girlfriend of Kait’s. They became instant soul sisters after meeting at an Initiative Network Retreat (shoutout to all our epic friends at Initiative!). Once Kait heard more about Angela’s story with Carson, she fell in love and knew she wanted to have them on to share everything together live!

Well today is the day! And friends, this is one of the first time Angela and Carson are sharing their story together publicly… let’s show them some major love for their courage, vulnerability, and willingness to share it with us here at HOD!

Angela Zatopek is an on air TV personality and host that has been featured on Fox Sports, NBC, CBS College Sports, Miss Texas USa, One America News, and the Christian Broadcasting Network 

Aside from working in media, Angela also founded a jewelry brand bridging the world of fashion and faith called Elevare. Part of her mission includes collaborating with bold people of faith, and designing collections to share their personal story. Her vision is to create a unique way for the millennial and older generation to learn, express, and share stories and teachings from the Bible through personal style.

Carson Blair baseball professionally for 12 years. He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox out of high school, played for Red Sox, the Oakland A’s and even the Rangers.

Carson is a huge health nut and passionate about health and wellness and is also a bonafide enneagram 5, which pairs interestingly with Angela’s enneagram 7 nature. Also in surprising news, Angela was his first girlfriend, which he explains more on today’s interview.

Kait, Angela and Carson talk today about physical boundaries in dating, abstinence, and how to develop a sexual ethic that means something to you. Angela and Carson both were able to maintain their desire to not have sex and are still honoring that now into their 30’s…

Why did you make the decision to save yourself for marriage and how did you do that?

Carson:

• Carson grew up in a fairly conservative environment and grew up going to a Christian school.
• Masculinity does not equal having a lot of sex with women. 
• Carson talked about how he had to learn about what makes a man a man and one of the things is refraining from causing harm when capable of it. 
• He talked about how he simply knew what he wanted in waiting to have sex and being in a baseball locker room helped reveal to him what he didn’t want as well. 
• Carson talked about how he saw his parent’s get divorced and he wanted to make sure he could do anything he can to not relive the pain of that. For him that meant to save certain expereinces for his wife, such as having sex. 

Angela:

• As a young girl, her parents truly put an emphasis on keeping herself for marriage. 
• “I want to wait until I can fully trust someone with my heart, and give the full of me in that way”
• Angela said that social media and the culture of it can have a negative impact on how sex is viewed.

How did you two meet?

• Carson does not like social media, but the irony is that he met Angela on instagram.
• Angela was Carson’s first ever girlfriend even though he always wanted a girlfriend
• Carson talks about how he wrote out his dating woes, fears, and desires.
• He finally made an instagram account and saw a video of Angela on his feed. 
• After a week of getting the courage to DM Angela, Carson sent her a message and Angela did not respond until 18 months later because she never saw the message.
• They ended up meeting in Dallas even if Angela was in New York.
• Angela ended up getting stuck in Dallas due to a tornado and ended up spending an extra few days with Carson. 

How did you maintain purity in your relationship?

• They talked about what they want and expectations from night one.
• “What we want long term is far more important than what we want immediately right now”
• They both were proud of preserving themselves and saving sex for marriage and were on the same page of where they wanted to go. 
• It’s not about legalistic boundaries, while rules are important but at the core it’s about having a deep love, honor, and respect for God and yourself. 

You recently got engaged! Tell us about your proposal!

• Carson asked Angela’s dad without her knowing, and the following weekend he took her on a trip and proposed to her on it.
• They tell the story of how he proposed, and the funny stories of proposing “last minute”.
• Carson proposed on the rooftop on a helicopter pad at sunset!

What is your final nugget of dating advice?

• Respect who you’re dating and make sure they’re respecting you. It’s not worth it if a high standard is not being upheld.
• You don’t have to be in a relationship, just to be in a relationship. Understand what you’re looking for and what you want.
• Don’t let the other person define your happiness.

Other Resources:

Follow Angela on instagram HERE

Follow Angela's jewelry line HERE