Teri Hatcher has opened up about how she lost her virginity and the lessons that it taught her for life.
In a recent episode of her Desperately Devoted podcast, the Desperate Housewives star was joined by her real-life daughter, Emerson Tenney, and on-screen daughter Andrea Bowen.
She reflected on the confusion, vulnerability, and lack of information that shaped her first sexual encounter as a teen.
“I Didn’t Know What a Condom Was”: Hatcher Gets Real About Her First Time
Now 60, Hatcher shared that her first experience with sex came during high school in her parents’ house — on their waterbed.
But while she may have had some vague exposure to sex education in school, she admitted she didn’t truly understand the basics.
“I didn’t know what a condom was,” she confessed.
Recalling the moment in vivid detail, Hatcher said she tried to prepare by searching through her parents' drawers, hoping to find anything that resembled protection.
“I found this thing, that was like a white, almost like a bandaid, but thicker than a bandaid,” she said, describing the item as “three or four inches long” and wrapped in plastic.
“I had it in my head that maybe you put it over the tip of the penis to keep [it from coming out]. This is how inexperienced I was going into having sex,” she added.
Ultimately, she decided not to use the mystery item and went ahead without any form of protection.
“I didn’t get a condom, so I didn’t use one,” she said, noting that she didn’t believe her partner brought one either, although she couldn’t recall for sure.
“I just know that I’m lucky I got out alive. I’m lucky I’m here today to talk about any of it. If we’re really going to examine my sexual history, it’s just filled with error,” Hatcher admitted.
A Home Without Shame: Emerson Talks Growing Up Sex-Positive
The podcast episode also opened a discussion about how Hatcher raised her daughter, Emerson, now 27, in a household where open conversations about sex and the human body were encouraged.
Bowen asked Emerson if their home environment growing up was one where sex was discussed freely.
“It didn’t attach a lot of shame,” Emerson replied, comparing it to how other families might feel uncomfortable even watching a sex scene in a movie together.
“I feel like I always felt slightly more like that wasn’t something that was horrible or abnormal or like you couldn’t do if that came up in a movie or something,” she explained.
She also recalled how normalized nudity was in her upbringing. Emerson described it as a “naked positive house” and said she used to run around nude as a kid. Hatcher even made up a song about it — one Emerson still remembers and sings today.
“I think that level of openness just around [the] body and asking questions of like, ‘What is a vagina? What is a penis?’ I feel like those things were always talked about,” she said.
Hatcher Reflects on Dating in Her 60s: “I Mostly Date My Cat”
Hatcher’s reflections on sex and relationships also extend into the present day. During an appearance on Sherri last year, she spoke about how dating has changed for her as she's gotten older.
“People would say, ‘Are you dating?’ and I'd say, ‘Well I don't date much anymore because I used to date, and you'd look across the table at the guy and you'd think, 'Okay, I wonder if we're gonna end up in bed together,' and now I look across the table and I just think, 'When am I gonna have to change this guy's diapers?’” she joked.
“It's just not that fun anymore,” she added.
When asked if she’s currently dating, Hatcher gave a characteristically blunt answer: “I don't date much. I mostly date my cat.”
A Painful Past: Hatcher’s Earlier Disclosure of Childhood Abuse
Hatcher’s openness around sex and trauma isn’t new. Back in 2006, she publicly revealed she had been sexually molested by her uncle at the age of five.
Years later, in 2002, she learned that her uncle, Richard Hayes Stone, had been arrested for molesting another child — a 14-year-old girl who later died by suicide.
Hatcher decided to come forward to authorities, and her testimony played a key role in convincing Stone to plead guilty to four counts of child molestation involving two girls. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.