Yesterday, as ITV's Loose Women kicked off its week of celebrations to mark 18 years on screen, viewers got some of the hallmarks of an actual 18th birthday party: a slightly raucous opportunity for coming-of-age tales - at least a few of which are followed by a touch of remorseful thinking. And, as the hosts answered the question: ‘Did life turn out the way we thought it would when we were 18?', we got a little more insight into the pasts and regrets of the show's hosts.
In a converation that became a little like Sexual Top Trumps, Coleen Nolan revealed that she regretted her 2005 statement that she would pay for her then 16-year-old son to visit a prostitute in Amsterdam, before Jane Moore made an incredibly striking confession: that she wishes she had actually been a bit more of a loose woman when she was younger.
The 55 year-old, who has been married for 15 years, told co-hosts Coleen Nolan, Stacey Solomon and Andrea Mclean ‘I wish I'd slept with more men.'
Admitting that she'd been a little uptight about sex, she explained: ‘You know when you were young, I was very monogamous. I was like, "I'm not going to entertain you at all unless we've been dating for three months," and now I just think, "Why?" Why not just lighten up a bit?'
While she didn't elaborate any further - none of the Loose Women dared ask her her number on live TV - the implication is that Jane feels she differed from other women her age.
Recent surveys have shown that the Baby Boomer generation are the most promiscuous, with women having had - on average - 11 sexual partners. Interestingly, this number drops through the generations, with women of Jane's age having an average of 10 and millennials actually projected to have far fewer sexual partners than any previous generation (mainy due to their heavily online lives).
But who wants to live by their regrets? Perhaps Jane should just take some guidance from the wise words of Dame Judi Dench... let go of what you did or didn't do in the past, but don't give up on the pursuit of a healthy sex life as you get older. Besides, studies show that women have better sex aged 36 upwards anyway!