People marrying earlier these days or just me?

[agro]

so i was surprised to find out the daughter of a friend of mine, age 20, is engaged and getting married?!

i have the belief that the earlier a couple gets married the more likely there is for them to get a divorce?

on the flip side, the earlier the better for saving for a house deposit etc..

what's everyone else's views on a subject like this?

edit - i am talking in a western sense here (e.g. Aus, UK, US)

 

[reece55]

so i was surprised to find out the daughter of a friend of mine, age 20, is engaged and getting married?!

i have the belief that the earlier a couple gets married the more likely there is for them to get a divorce?

on the flip side, the earlier the better for saving for a house deposit etc..

what's everyone else's views on a subject like this?

edit - i am talking in a western sense here (e.g. Aus, UK, US)

Agro
I have been finding that many get ENGAGED a lot younger than people previously did.....

But engagement periods have gone from say 3 - 6 months to (in some cases) 3-4 years. So, in summary, I think younger people are confirming their love earlier, but are still tying the knot at approximatively the same age.

Cheers

 

[cuttlefish]

Seems pretty young to get married to my mind - but if they're both genuinely happy about it who's to judge, and if it goes wrong they've learnt and have a chance of doing better next time.

 

[agro]

i spose you could look at it from a number of perspectives..

not only are pre-adolescents growing up quicker (e.g. 13 year old girls wearing make inspired by paris hilton) they are also getting married quicker..

from my point of view, at 20 you have a whole life ahead of you.. but hey thats not to say it wont work out as many high school sweethearts are still together at 60+!

 

[cuttlefish]

Depends how you view marriage - if its a prospect of sharing and creating a future together and thats how its genuinely felt by both parties - with excitement and enthusiasm and not a trap to be wary of or a situation to be roped into then the earlier the better would seem to make sense.

 

[ROE]

so i was surprised to find out the daughter of a friend of mine, age 20, is engaged and getting married?!

i have the belief that the earlier a couple gets married the more likely there is for them to get a divorce?

on the flip side, the earlier the better for saving for a house deposit etc..

what's everyone else's views on a subject like this?

edit - i am talking in a western sense here (e.g. Aus, UK, US)

Age got nothing to do with the divorce and I think it's a myth that people get marry early end up divorce. You can find just as many people divorce if they marry later in life.

It's the life style and the commitment that people un-willing to negotiate and navigate and work through that cause divorce.

Marriage like anything else if not more so important than any else, require real commitment and dedication that most people take for granted and the next thing they know, they end up in court.

I know lot of people marry early in their teen and 20's and still together after 50 years.

 

[Yezzy]

Ask your grandparents, and parents for that matter, how old they were when they got married. My parents were engaged when they were both roughly 20 and got married 3 and a half years later, as far as I'm aware that was the norm.

 

[Prospector]

I was engaged at 20 and married at 22. Still married too! Many years later. Most of my peer group did the same and most are still married.

My son's peer group are in the 18 - 22 year age group, and none of them even remotely interested in leaving home, getting engaged, let alone married. So I guess I am thinking people aren't getting married earlier these days. In fact, they arent even leaving home, no signs of it in fact!

 

[prawn_86]

My son's peer group are in the 18 - 22 year age group, and none of them even remotely interested in leaving home, getting engaged, let alone married. So I guess I am thinking people aren't getting married earlier these days. In fact, they arent even leaving home, no signs of it in fact!

Im in the 18-22 category and i couldnt wait to move out of home. Although im from the country originally. Its a lot easier for those who live in the city to stay with their folks while they are at uni.

As to getting married. Im in a serious relationship, but at this stage wont go towards engagement until a job has been found after uni...

 

[Julia]

It's probably difficult to drawn any statistically valid conclusions from the anecdotal stuff we can contribute here. I wouldn't have thought people were getting married earlier. Just looking at the wedding photos in the Sunday papers, most couples are in their mid to late 20's, and the occasional (presumably second time around) couple in their 40's or 50's.

I was married at 19, having become engaged at 18 (God help me, how stupid) and was divorced at 24. Did it again at 27 and wound that up at 32.
Just demonstrated shocking judgement in both cases.

Not sure if I can say this here and retain any, umm, respect, but I think that young people (myself included) are too much overwhelmed by their hormones and lack the experience and judgment to be objective about their choices.

That said, you have people who - as indicated by Prospector - have clearly had the maturity to make good choices at a young age. I surely wasn't one of them.

 

[Wysiwyg]

Mmmm, never been married but once those undies start smelling you know it`s time for a change.

 

[2BAD4U]

Engaged at 19 (wife 17)
Married at 21
Kids at 22
Still married 18 years later.

The thing with my wife and I is we are literally best mates and always have been.

The one thing I find sad though is I have a few friends now in their late 30's / early 40's and they are desparate to get married because they feel time is running out, this to me is the wrong reason.

Basically, I don't think age has anything to do with a happy marriage.