Divorcee ‘liberated’ after turning ex’s holiday home into nudist resort
Karie Jane, 56, visited a nudist beach more than 20 years ago, inspiring her to open her own resort
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Your support makes all the difference.A happily single divorcee who turned her and her ex-husband’s holiday home in the Canary Islands into a naturist resort, where she greets her guests entirely naked, has said the experience is “liberating” but not sexual “on any level”.
Karie Jane, 56, from Derbyshire, visited a nudist beach more than 20 years ago and has not looked back since, after feeling liberated and free.
Her holiday home, the BHH Naturist Resort in Costa Calma, Fuerteventura, is now a booming business welcoming nudist adults and hosting singles weekends – despite Karie claiming some naturist holiday destinations do not allow single men as they are often considered a danger to women.
The ex-theatre producer said naturism is not about what people look like – instead, it strips away any judgment and proves all people are the same underneath.
Some couples have visited Karie’s resort more than five times, and even the staff, including cleaners and pool boys, are allowed to join in and get their kit off.
The only clothing provided is an apron, to protect visitors using the barbecues on the beach from unfortunate burns.
“A lot of people think it’s sexual, but it’s not on any level,” she said.
“If you were a true naturist, you wouldn’t see it that way at all – it’s just liberating, and that’s it.
“It’s easy to judge a group of people with no clothes on.
“I get asked if it’s sexual all the time by guests, and I say if it’s a sexual situation you want to be in, then please don’t come to my resort.”
Karie said holidaying without clothes is “freeing” and shows that ultimately “we’re all just body parts”.
“There’s nothing like swimming in the ocean without any costume, and it’s very freeing and liberating,” she said.
“Nobody else is looking at you. There are all shapes and sizes, all different walks of life.
“No-one cares about what you’re wearing, what designer labels you do or don’t have.
“There’s nothing to set you apart from the next person, and it makes you realise you’re all the same, and we’re all just body parts.”
Karie first visited a nudist beach in 2000, when on holiday in Spain, and from then on she continued going on holiday in the buff.
She even bought a holiday home in Fuerteventura with her then-husband in 2001 to embrace the naturist lifestyle more often.
She said: “When my ex-husband and I started coming over here, we realised it’s the normal thing on the beaches to be a naturist.
“We bought it as a holiday home, and then we rented it to families, and it became a holiday destination which I ran.”
Karie and her husband divorced in 2013, which, in need of a new start, gave her the perfect opportunity to relocate permanently to the sunny Spanish island.
The property is made up of five apartments, so Karie decided to move into one of them and enjoyed running the business as a regular holiday home – until the opportunity in front of her was laid bare.
In 2020, she realised that she was sitting on a gold mine – Fuerteventura was already known for its nudist beaches, so she decided to make the resort naturist to give tourists a way of relaxing among like-minded people.
“I wanted to create a community for naturists where they could relax and have their own space other than the beach,” she said.
When Karie told her loved ones in England that she was going to turn the resort into a naturist holiday destination, they were incredibly supportive, and many of her family members have visited and stripped off.
She laughed: “My ex-husband was delighted for me when I told him the news, I’m quite introverted, but he’s extremely extroverted because he’s an actor, and he loved naturism.
“He was always prancing around naked.
“My family are very proud of me and what I’ve achieved here.
“I’ve got elderly parents who, I’m sure, if they could travel, would come and join in the experience.
“My sister and my niece were here a couple of weeks ago.
“They enjoyed the freedom and not being bogged down with clothes.”
Karie’s staff are welcome to join in too, including pool boys and cleaners.
“If someone is in charge of a Hoover it might cause a bit of danger,” she added.
“No more dangerous than nude people barbecuing in the evening, which is what a lot of guests do.
I love my life, I live in paradise, running a successful business
“I’ve had to provide aprons for them to wear to protect themselves.”
Karie explained how dating has been as a naturist: “I don’t have any issue with it, and I don’t think anybody else does either.
“I love my life, I live in paradise, running a successful business.
“I don’t feel the need to have a male or female partner.”
Within the naturism community, Karie believes that some resorts in Europe do not allow single men to stay, but she often holds singles only weekends.
She explained: “It’s quite a topic of conversation in the naturist groups.
“I like to talk to people before they come, have a discussion and get to know them before they arrive to make sure we are all like-minded people, which generally is the case.”
Karie said she would recommend giving naturism a go to anyone.
“It’s so liberating, everyone should try it,” she said.
“It will make you feel completely free.”