Paris Hilton reveals she 'feared' sex despite being widely considered a sex symbol

Paris Hilton has opened up about how she 'feared' sex despite being widely thought of as a sex symbol.

The reality star, 42, revealed that the "abuse and degradation" she suffered as a teenager had a lasting impact on her relationships.

She previously alleged in October how she was sexually assaulted by a male teacher during the year she spent at a Utah boarding school.

Now, in an extract from her upcoming book Paris: The Memoir published in The Sunday Times, Hilton said: "The ironic thing is, because of the abuse and degradation I survived at the schools I was sent away to as a teenager – and maybe partly because of the way I was raised – I feared sex.

"I hated the idea of sex. I avoided sex until it was absolutely unavoidable."

This meant that Hilton said she was reluctant to record, aged 19, a sex tape, with her then-boyfriend – who remains unnamed in the memoir – that was then subsequently leaked by him in 2004.

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She said: "The world thinks of me as a sex symbol, and I'm here for that, because symbol literally means icon.

"But when people saw that sex tape, they didn't say 'icon', they said 'slut'. They said 'whore'. And they weren't shy about it."

Last month, Hilton revealed that her first sexual experience, aged 15, was non-consensual when she was "drugged and raped" by an older man.

She told Glamour UK: "I remembered it. I have visions of him on top of me, covering my mouth, being like, 'You're dreaming, you're dreaming,' and whispering that in my ear."

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In January, Hilton welcomed her first child with husband Carter Reum, via surrogate, announcing the news in an Instagram post showing her holding the baby's tiny hand.

However, the couple, who married in 2021, only revealed his name, Phoenix, late last month.

Watch: Paris Hilton undergoes another IVF round in a bid to have a daughter