I disagree. You do not HAVE to have prior relationships before you find your soulmate. The vast majority of people will and that's great but you don't have to.

1. My soulmate is my first proper relationship. I had gone on dates before with other people but I was not in a relationship with them. He was also (*bracing for your inevitable judgement and incorrect assumptions*) my first sexual partner. I have known my soulmate since 2012 and we have been together since 2016 and our relationship is extremely healthy despite having gone through some major hardships - they have only made us stronger.

2. We can grow while being in the relationship. Both me and my soulmate are much more mature and healthy than we were when we first fell in love. We grew together via healthy communication.

3. You can discover what you want in a relationship through other means than having a string of failed relationships beforehand. For example I have thought very deeply about what I want in a relationship and researched healthy relationships and psychology ever since I was in my teens. I have learned from other people's mistakes.

4. (The most important reason): You shouldn't go into an early relationship thinking "this one doesn't count, it's only practice for my REAL relationship which will be in the future, I can make all my mistakes now and it's fine". That's using someone. That's going into it expecting it to end, which is going to MAKE IT END.