A woman who found everything was ‘going wrong’ in her life decided to swap her corporate career for a new job as a sexologist.
Caroline D’Arcy said in a year her life took a ‘complete 180-degree turn’ after a breakup and selling her house in Wirral.
The 34-year-old, who went to convent school at Upton Hall, said it was at this point that she was introduced to sexology.
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Caroline said: "I just had this year where I had a complete life 180-degree turn.
"I was selling my property on the Wirral, which I’d been renting out, I was dissatisfied at work, sad that my relationship had broken down – and I was exploring the BDSM world as a single person.
"I'd even had an accident on a skiing holiday.
"Everything really was going wrong. It wasn’t a fun year at all.”
At around the same time, a friend introduced Caroline to a podcast called Sex Nerd Sandra that changed her life.
Caroline was also nicknamed ‘Samantha Jones’ after Kim Cattrall’s character in Sex and the City due to her new BDSM interests.
She added: "I’d always been fascinated by sex and human connection. I went to a Catholic convent school and the information on sex was so limited.
"In my early thirties, I’d had a lot of different boyfriends – I was the ‘Samantha Jones’ of the group and my friends were always laughing around the dinner table as I was talking about sex.
"A friend recommended me a podcast called Sex Nerd Sandra, featuring a sex educator who used to work in an LA sex shop, Pleasure Chest, and it was like my world opened up".
Caroline continued to explore her new found passion further and attended events and workshops about BDSM.
After selling her house and coming into a ‘chunk of money’ she decided to invest in a new career in sex coaching.
She left her job in corporate management, working as a health and safety sales specialist, and started her own sex coach businesses.
Caroline, who now lives in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey, with her creative director partner, Salim, 34, said: "It just opened up my eyes and it was the first time I didn’t feel like an outsider when it came to sex."
She added: "I always had this fascination with all things to do with sex, but I grew up Catholic-educated and as a woman society gives you these messages that sex is dangerous, wrong and dirty.
"At my career advice meeting, aged 17, being a sexologist wasn’t something that was on the table."
In December 2016, Caroline signed up for a course on somatic, or body-focused sexology, which qualified her as a sexological bodyworker.
She graduated from the course in September 2017 and then founded her business, Inti-Mate - an online coaching firm teaching techniques for self-pleasure and sex.
Carline now offers coaching sessions to women and couples, however, her special interest is in helping women to reconnect with themselves sexually.
She said: "My business is all online – as people are most comfortable talking about their most intimate moments in the familiarity of their own homes.
"I am fully qualified to coach participants through orgasm in a live setting – but the video and audio route makes it more comfortable for them.
"I help women – and couples – to have better sex and orgasms, because I know the power of pleasure in changing your life."
Now in its fourth year, Caroline has also already exceeded the salary she earned at her old company with Inti-Mate.
She said: "I had this goal in mind of making more money from the business than I was before.
"I realise now it was a very masculine, ego-driven goal – but I did achieve it."
