As *The Pitt* and *The White Lotus* inch closer to their season finales, FX’s new miniseries *Dying for Sex* arrives to fill the prestige-TV void. Starring Michelle Williams as podcaster and author Molly Kochan, the show explores themes of death, wellness, and the transformative power of sexual connection during life’s toughest moments.

But how much of it is true? Here’s what you need to know about the real story behind *Dying for Sex*.

### Who was the real Molly?
Molly Kochan did experience a sexual awakening in her early 40s after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Following surgeries and radiation in 2013, she explained in the first episode of the *Dying for Sex* podcast (which inspired the FX series) that hormone therapy—meant to suppress libido—had the opposite effect on her.

*”I literally wanted to hump everything and everyone I saw,”* she joked. Initially, this led to flirting with men online, which, to her surprise, her husband was fine with.

*”I know what it’s like to disconnect from your body through sex, but this was different,”* she said. *”It made me feel alive and creative.”*

### Did Molly really leave her husband?
In the series, Molly’s husband, Steve (played by Jay Duplass), is depicted as well-meaning but somewhat oblivious to her emotional journey. In reality, Kochan and her husband separated in 2015 after learning her cancer had progressed to stage IV, spreading to her brain, bones, and liver. (They were in couples therapy when she got the news.) Despite the split, they remained close friends.

*”I love my husband, but we weren’t a romantic fit,”* she said on the podcast. *”I couldn’t fully grow within this marriage.”* After their separation, she turned her online flirtations into real-life encounters.

### Was there a real Nikki?
Yes. Molly’s best friend, Nikki Boyer (played by Jenny Slate in the series), stood by her throughout her illness. The two met in an acting class in 1999 and remained inseparable.

*”We’ve been through marriages, divorces, boyfriends, her stepkids, and now my cancer—twice,”* Kochan wrote in her 2020 memoir, *Screw Cancer: Becoming Whole*. *”She cries as much as I do about my diagnosis. But we laugh, too. That’s always been our light.”* Boyer later hosted the *Dying for Sex* podcast.

### How did Molly’s story end?
Sadly, Molly passed away on March 8, 2019. In a posthumously published blog post titled *”I Have Died,”* she wrote:

*”Even as I die, I put pressure on myself. I get angry when I can’t sit up to type. There are projects I wanted to finish. But I have no control. All I can do is let go of guilt and accept that my days are what they were.”*