Hi Megan,
I was raised down here in the South too, but I have to say that I've never once heard any pastor or anyone for that matter say, "sex is bad." Though I'm sure there are probably some po dunk little country churchs that still preach that. I've heard just the opposite. Love and Sex is one of the greatest gifts from God to mankind as long as it is in its divinely ordained context.
She wanted to have sex with him, but was too scared to do it out of wedlock. So they got married and they're miserable.
I do know exactly what you mean about the story of your friend. That seems to happen a lot at the Christian school I go to. A pair of 18 or 19 year-olds fall in lust with each other and get married just so they can have sex within marriage and then they discover they had no idea what love or marriage was all about. As you can imagine the divorce rate for students that marry is pretty high.
Do kids really know what a healthy relationship is anymore?
I think most do not, and those with wisdom are many times blinded and overpowered by hormones. I think skewed church doctrines and the nature of our society are a big part of it.