How common was it for couples to ‘wait until marriage’ before having sex in the past?

by tekkie74

Before the sexual revolution, it seemed protocol for a couple to not have sex until they are married. My question is, did people actually follow this rule or was it common for couples to secretly have sex beforehand?

How does this differ with commoners and nobility/upper class? Was it also common for people from the upper class break the rules?

mimicofmodes

There's always more to be said, but I have two older answers that deal with this:

I've read that it was incredibly normal for brides to be pregnant in the 18th century, but in Pride and Prejudice a couple's implied sexual contact prior to their marriage is a huge scandal. Is this indicative of a moral class divide, or were 18th century values just not representative of reality?

In Hamilton, in the song A Winter's Ball, Burr says "so many ladies to deflowered." How common was premarital sex in the colonies?