Ashley Graham thinks "having sex too soon" led her to dating a string of "terrible guys".

Ashley Graham

Ashley Graham

The 31-year-old model - who is now married to Justin Ervin - has claimed she dated a man in her early 20s who was "mentally, physically, and emotionally abusive" to her, and says the reason she found herself in that relationship was because she kept "giving it up too soon".

Speaking to Gwyneth Paltrow on her 'Goop' podcast about leaving her "terrible" romance, she said: "I knew that I was a stronger woman for breaking up with him, and in feeling stronger for breaking up with him I was like, 'What is it that I need to do to change myself so I don't get back into that situation?' And in that 'aha' moment, I was like, my problem is I keep giving it up too soon, I keep having sex too soon with these guys."

Ashley then decided to refrain from having sex until she was married, but after a "little issue with some tequila" which led to her showing up at her agency "a little drunk", her mother told her to go to church.

She added: "My mom said, 'rehab or church,' and I was like, 'I'm not an alcoholic, so I'll just go to church.'"

It was at church that Ashley met her now husband, Justin, and although the two went out for coffee, Ashley thought he was "another cheap guy" because he made her pay for their beverages.

The brunette beauty continued: "So I was like, great, I have another cheap guy. And he said that a man always appreciates it when a woman attempts to grab her wallet. So I was through with him, girl, I erased his number, done."

But a month later, he asked her out again and this time he did pay, and the pair - who married in 2010 - became "inseparable".

And the model was even able to keep up her own rule.

She told Gwyneth: "And he and I did not break my rule, and his rule as well, because I didn't know that he was also trying to wait until he was married to have sex as well."