In Dying For Sex, a woman is given a stage lV cancer diagnosis and promptly leaves her husband and goes on a journey of sexual discovery - and the incredible story is inspired by real events.
On Friday, April 4, Disney+ unveil their latest must-watch - Dying For Sex. Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate lead an all-star cast in the eight-episode limited series, inspired by the true story of Molly Kochan. After being diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, Molly (Michelle Williams) leaves her unhappy marriage to fully explore her sexual desires for the first time in her life.
Encouraged to embark on this extraordinary adventure by her best friend Nikki (Jenny Slate), Molly challenges demons from her childhood, experiences induced menopause, and has lots and lots of sex. We look at Molly Kochan's real story, and why Michelle Williams felt so compelled to bring her journey to your screen.
Dying For Sex: The true story
In 2011, Molly Kochan was diagnosed with breast cancer. By 2015, she'd gone through rigorous cancer treatment including a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Then at the age of 42, she received the news her cancer had progressed to stage IV and was terminal.
With that, Molly left her 15-year marriage to finally explore her sexuality. As per The Guardian, Molly had been abused by one of her mother’s boyfriends at the age of seven. Michelle Williams told the publication she believes Molly was "trying to repair the original wound while she still has time" when she began her sexscapades.
Molly's 'orgasm odyssey' is also documented in a podcast by her best friend Nikki Boyer, also named Dying for Sex. The six-part podcast is narrated by Boyer, and made up of conversations she had with Molly about her hookups, her illness and the driving force behind turning to sex as a way to make sense of her life.
According to the New York Post, Molly stopped counting her sexual encounters after number 183, and the final number could've been around 200. She dabbled in masochism, made out with a mortician dressed in full clown makeup and had a dalliance with a foot fetishist.
When Michelle Williams listened to these adventures unfold on the Dying For Sex podcast, she was instantly sold on turning it into television. "I was astonished to find myself crying within 13 minutes," she said, adding, "And I’m not a crier. Things don’t get to me. I’m thick-skinned, I’m experienced, I’m savvy. It takes a lot to break through that."
The actress also feels that although the premise of the show sounds difficult - and cancer is sad and difficult and a multitude of other nuanced things, it also shows viewers they shouldn't have to wait for something terrible to happen before they make big changes to their lives.
"Could you live like this if you didn’t have a terminal diagnosis?" Williams asks, adding, "Wouldn’t that be wonderful? It’s thrilling and exhilarating, just to radically accept people as they are."
Is Molly Kochan still alive?
Sadly, Molly died from her illness on March 8, 2019, at the age of 45. In her final weeks, she even wrote her memoir, Screw Cancer: Becoming Whole, from her hospital bed. The book was published posthumously in 2020.
Prior to her death, Molly had been able to rebuild the fraught relationships with her parents, who had divorced when she was little and made up the small number of loved ones with her before she passed away.
Of the book, Nikki Boyer says, "Her book addresses her trauma and I don’t think she was able to do that until she really reconnected with her mother and father. We all screw up, but she forgave them and loved them deeply."
Although Molly's sexual adventures didn't end with her finding the love of her life, she did discover a deep and unexpected love. "I wish I could cap off the whirlwind hospital story with an amazing tale about a guy who swept me off my feet and made me blush, but my visitor never showed up," she wrote in her book.
However, she concludes, "I realize I did get to fall in love. I am in love. With me."
