“Its hard to tell what key in of 30-year-old you will be at 19.”
We recentlyaskedtheBuzzFeed Communityto share their stories about getting married young and then later getting divorced.
you might read about some success storieshereandhere.
“We married during the Vietnam War.
My husband was in the Navy.
71, Texas
2.
“I was 19 when I married my then-husband.
We were each other’s ‘first loves’ and felt like we had to get married.
Should have been the first red flag.
We were separated not long after that.”
39, Washington
3.
“I was married to my first boyfriend at age 20.
Living together out of wedlock was also frowned upon.
He was leaving the state and wanted me to come with him, so we got married.
Kids: don’t get married without living together first.
It was an eye-opening experience.
Our marriage lasted two years until we finally threw in the towel.”
47, California
4.
“We were college sweethearts.
Everyone kept asking when we were getting married so we got married.
Neither of us was anywhere near mature enough to make that kind of commitment.
We argued about everything and anything.
We split up after seven years and remain dear friends 30 years later.”
52, Iowa
5.
“Got married at 18 after dating for three years.
magicalcat26
6.
“I grew up in a strict religious culture and believed that sex before marriage was a huge sin.
41, Canada
7.
“I was married at 18, my husband was 22.
I was pregnant and back in the late ’80s, it was the right thing to do.
We were together for 10 years and had a second child in that time.
By the time our seventh wedding anniversary came around, I was done.
I never would have married him had I not been pregnant.
Anonymous, Canada
8.
My advice to my daughter now: DO NOT GET MARRIED BEFORE 25.
That gives you time to really know yourself and what you want.”
38, Oklahoma
9.
“This is gross, we met when I was 15 and he was 22.
No one stopped us.
a-b-nana
10.
“I drank the heteronormative Kool-Aid.
35, Vermont
11.
We chose to get hitched.
I loved him and he loved me too.
It was a disaster.
He became abusive but I couldnt leave because my job didnt pay enough to support me.
We stuck it out for 10 horrible years.
Ill never move for a man again.”
50, Canada
12.
“Married in my early twenties.
The nail in the coffin was when he told me I could never in my lifetime own a dog.
33, US
13.
“I was married at age 20 and got divorced at age 38.
I have no regrets about getting married so young.
We just grew apart, but nobody did anything dumb to hurt the other.
Life happens and people are complicated.”
pastelwitch38
14.
“I met my now ex-husband at age 17 in my first semester of college.
He was a couple of years older.
We had dated for a couple of years and I figured that was good enough.
The real issues came in after graduating college and trying to start an ‘adult life.’
We couldn’t agree on where to live, where to work, how to spend money etc.
The final straw came when he wanted to start having kids.
I was 24 and he was pushing me to get off birth control.
I didnt even have a career yet.
I pushed back and we eventually split and divorced.
Do what feels best for you, not what you think you are supposed to be doing.”
38, Tennessee
15.
“Of course, that did not last.
Currently happily married and with two children with my chosen husband.
35, US
16.
“Started dating in 2015 and got married in 2021 and filed for divorce in 2023.
We started becoming more roommates than partners.
We were best friends but the intimacy wasn’t there after a while.
Everything changes when you get older and it is okay to leave your high school sweetheart.”
25, NJ
17.
“I got married at age 18 to my boyfriend, who was 21 at the time.
I was reluctant but loved him and wanted to stay together.
I got the kids and me out.
37, California
18.
“Met my now ex-husband at 20 and married at 23.
He was 10 years older and I loved how much we had in common.
Turns out I wasnt mature for my age he was just very immature for his.
Ten years later, Ive successfully raised three kiddos and he still has the maturity of a teenager.”
41, US
19.
I had children and realized all the concessions weren’t worth it.
33, Florida
20.At 22, I was graduating with my B.A.
and moving across the country for grad school.
He (25) popped the question and I said yes.
I walked away.”
I looked at him like he was a superhero.
I was delusional and inexperienced.
As we got older he stayed the same and I changed.
I had many business and life opportunities that I wanted to take and he didnt.
We had less and less in common as I grew as a person.
Its hard to tell what bang out of 30-year-old you will be at 19.
46, Florida
Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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