Pastor Owolabi, wife of Pastor Juwon Owolabi of Lightlife Church International in Nigeria, has sparked conversations about intimacy in marriage after urging married women to take their sexual satisfaction seriously.
Speaking at a programme dubbed “Marriage That Works“, the pastor challenged the notion that sex within marriage should be viewed mainly as a means of procreation, stressing that it also plays an important role in companionship, pleasure and mutual fulfilment between couples.
She encouraged women to learn more about their bodies, understand their sexual needs and communicate openly with their husbands rather than treating intimacy as a subject that should be avoided or discussed in hushed tones.
Making a strong case for sexual fulfilment, Pastor Owolabi declared, “If you die without experiencing orgasm, you’ve lived a wasted life.”
Her remarks highlighted the importance of women feeling comfortable discussing their sexual experiences and seeking satisfaction within their marriages without embarrassment or shame.
The pastor also shared her personal experience, revealing that she had little knowledge about sex before getting married because she was a virgin at the time.
According to her, she initially understood sex largely from its biological perspective but later realised that marital intimacy involved much more than what she had previously known.
She explained that this realisation motivated her to educate herself about the subject, describing sexual intimacy as a field of knowledge that couples should be willing to explore and understand.
“I knew that okay, I need to understand because this is a body of knowledge, this is like a university,” she said.
Pastor Owolabi therefore urged married women to take the initiative to learn about intimacy and create room for honest discussions with their partners about their expectations, desires and needs.
She further encouraged couples to explore different approaches to intimacy within marriage, maintaining that God does not oppose variety in the sexual relationship between husband and wife.
“God is not against other styles in marriage,” she stated.
Pastor Juwon Owolabi speaks on intimacy and ageing
Meanwhile, her husband, Pastor Juwon Owolabi, also shared his thoughts on intimacy during the programme, arguing that couples should not assume that their sexual relationship must end simply because they are growing older.
He used the biblical account of Abraham and Keturah to support his position, suggesting that age should not automatically prevent married couples from maintaining intimacy.
“If you take care of yourself, the older you become, the better it should be,” he said.
The couple’s comments formed part of a broader discussion on building strong and lasting marriages, with emphasis on the importance of nurturing the emotional, spiritual and physical aspects of a relationship.
Their message ultimately encouraged couples to approach intimacy with greater understanding, open communication and a willingness to keep learning about one another throughout their marriage.
