Ciara has explained her and her husband Russell Wilson’s decision to abstain from sex until they married, saying it was important they built a “friendship” first.

The singer married the NFL star in July at the unlikely venue of Peckforton Castle in Cheshire after dating for over a year.

The couple’s decision to abstain from sex until their wedding day was well documented with Wilson saying the decision stemmed from his belief in Christianity.

Ciara has now reflected on their decision saying celibacy meant they could establish a friendship in their relationship first.

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“I really believe that when you focus on a friendship, you have the opportunity to build a strong foundation for a relationship, and once you know you’re really great friends and you’re what we call ‘equally yoked’ where you share the same values or the same outlook on life, it kind of sets the tone," she told Cosmopolitan South Africa. "Knowing that you’ll always have the friendship and that you can always go back to it is very important and very powerful.

The 31-year-old said she and Wilson had a conversation about the “intimacy part” of their relationship which led to the decision.

“I have to give credit to my husband for sharing those views. It’s awesome how it all worked out,” she said.

​She also suggested women "think with our hearts and with our minds [...] guys see us from an exterior point of view - that's something I learnt along the way as a woman.

“It’s important to have a friendship,” she said. “ It’s important to have standards. You shouldn’t feel like you have to give your body away to get someone to like you.”