“When you know, you know!” Lots ofcoupleslove using this saying to explain why they’ve decided to tie the knot soon into their relationships or before their brains are fully developed. And sometimes, they do know!Nearly halfof people who marry their high school sweethearts stay together for good. But the other half, on the other hand, realizes that it’s impossible to see the future. And being in love while you’re young isn’talways enoughto sustain a marriage forever.Redditors who married young have recently beenopening upabout how their relationships are going now, a decade or more later. Below, you’ll find some of their most powerful stories, including some that are heartwarming and others that are heartbreaking. Keep reading to find a conversation with therapistDr. Kathy McMahon, and be sure to upvote the stories that touch you!This post may includeaffiliate links.
“When you know, you know!” Lots ofcoupleslove using this saying to explain why they’ve decided to tie the knot soon into their relationships or before their brains are fully developed. And sometimes, they do know!Nearly halfof people who marry their high school sweethearts stay together for good. But the other half, on the other hand, realizes that it’s impossible to see the future. And being in love while you’re young isn’talways enoughto sustain a marriage forever.
Redditors who married young have recently beenopening upabout how their relationships are going now, a decade or more later. Below, you’ll find some of their most powerful stories, including some that are heartwarming and others that are heartbreaking. Keep reading to find a conversation with therapistDr. Kathy McMahon, and be sure to upvote the stories that touch you!
This post may includeaffiliate links.
I was 19, he was 20. I was four months pregnant. We were planning on getting married when we found out I was pregnant. People made bets we wouldn’t last 5 years. Then 10 years. We just celebrated 40 years. FORTY YEARS. My oldest brother has died, my two oldest sisters and younger brother are divorced. My next older sister literally hates me and punishes me, throwing my pregnancy and “sex before marriage” in my face…still, 40 years later. I don’t take it personally because I know her bitter-twice divorced a*s just can’t handle we’ve done well and she is still struggling. I’m not saying we haven’t seen a lot of ups and downs in 40 years, because we have seen a LOT of st. 40 years is a long time. There’s been a LOT of st, a LOT of great stuff, a LOT of st, a lot of laughs, a lot of boring times. Two kids and three grandkids later. Lots of jobs, vacations, trips. Fights, arguments, joy, sex, dry spells, love, lots of love, nights on the couch, nights away, nights intertwined. We’ve been through practically everything together. Loves and losses. And here we are….STILL. Are we still “in-love” with each other? I don’t know. Some days yes, some days no. Sometimes we can’t stand each other. But here we are. Forty fking years. Yeah, fking, not as much fking, but still, here we are. Mostly because of our sense of humor. And really, who wants to do jail time.
To find out how this conversation started in the first place, we reached out to Reddit user 2moms1bun, who posed the question, “Those who got married young (under 25), how is it going 10+ years later?” She was kind enough to have a chat withBored Pandaand shared that she was inspired to ask the question because she and her wife hit a big milestone this year - their 15th wedding anniversary.“I was thinking of being young and having important people in our lives, on both sides of our families, tell us not to get married,” the OP said. “The two reasons were that they were against gay marriage that they didn’t like that we were ‘too young.’ So, I wanted to see what other experiences had been. Was there a higher divorce rate if people were ‘too young’?”
To find out how this conversation started in the first place, we reached out to Reddit user 2moms1bun, who posed the question, “Those who got married young (under 25), how is it going 10+ years later?” She was kind enough to have a chat withBored Pandaand shared that she was inspired to ask the question because she and her wife hit a big milestone this year - their 15th wedding anniversary.
“I was thinking of being young and having important people in our lives, on both sides of our families, tell us not to get married,” the OP said. “The two reasons were that they were against gay marriage that they didn’t like that we were ‘too young.’ So, I wanted to see what other experiences had been. Was there a higher divorce rate if people were ‘too young’?”
2moms1bun shared that she doesn’t believe there’s such thing as marrying too young, as long as both parties are around the same age and over 18. “I don’t think older couples fair better for having waited,” she noted.And as far as the replies to her post, the OP says, “There were some responses from people who had been married 50 and 60 years! Talk about couple goals! The idea of 70 and 80-year-olds taking to Reddit to brag about their spouse made my heart melt!”
2moms1bun shared that she doesn’t believe there’s such thing as marrying too young, as long as both parties are around the same age and over 18. “I don’t think older couples fair better for having waited,” she noted.
And as far as the replies to her post, the OP says, “There were some responses from people who had been married 50 and 60 years! Talk about couple goals! The idea of 70 and 80-year-olds taking to Reddit to brag about their spouse made my heart melt!”
Married 30 years. Still happy. Life changes and gives you different challenges and it’s great to have a real partner to meet them with you.I just noticed that he’s getting a little silver in his hair and I thought, what a privilege that I’m still here with him to see it. Maybe that’s stupid but that’s how I feel.
We also asked 2moms1bun if she had any wisdom to share with young couples who are planning on tying the knot soon. “What I do find makes the difference in any marriage is being best friends,” she told Bored Panda. “I think it’s the best, most effective way to make a marriage last. A best friend is someone who will see you through anything, which is what a spouse should be! I’m so grateful that I married mine.““My advice to anyone would be to ask yourself if the person beside you looked different, got sick, lost their career, or had another change, would you want to still be with them? Can you tell them anything? If the answer is yes, it’s likely that you are best friends and likely to do the work to make it last!” the OP added. “I’d like to thank my wife, Katie, for being my best friend, a wonderful mother, and my rock. Here’s to 50 more years!”
We also asked 2moms1bun if she had any wisdom to share with young couples who are planning on tying the knot soon. “What I do find makes the difference in any marriage is being best friends,” she told Bored Panda. “I think it’s the best, most effective way to make a marriage last. A best friend is someone who will see you through anything, which is what a spouse should be! I’m so grateful that I married mine.”
“My advice to anyone would be to ask yourself if the person beside you looked different, got sick, lost their career, or had another change, would you want to still be with them? Can you tell them anything? If the answer is yes, it’s likely that you are best friends and likely to do the work to make it last!” the OP added. “I’d like to thank my wife, Katie, for being my best friend, a wonderful mother, and my rock. Here’s to 50 more years!”
Married at 19. Still together after 34 years. Not gonna say it’s a perfect partnership but we both roll with the changes. Started out with him working and me at home with our son. Now I’m working full time and he’s the househusband. Tell you the truth, he’s better at it than I was.
Together since we were 15/14…. Married at 23/22 … just turned (turning) 50. Still in love, and happy.All marriages have their tough times, our is no exception but we always made the effort to work through it, rather than running.Could be also because both of us come from divorce and didn’t want that for us or our kids.
We were also lucky enough to get in touch with psychologist and founder ofCouples Therapy Inc., Dr. Kathy McMahon. She had a chat with Bored Panda and discussed some of the pros and cons of tying the knot young. “Consider marrying younger versus older as the difference a colleague described as a ‘cornerstone’ vs. ‘capstone’ marriage,” the therapist shared.
Married at 20. We celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary next year. Traveled, bought a home, and thoroughly enjoyed each other for 7 years before having a child. I think sometimes people get really caught up in the idea of having a wedding and then they immediately have children. Don’t get me wrong, that’s totally great for some people. But my nugget of advice for all newly engaged/married couples is to really enjoy your marriage first. Give it the time it needs to flourish, because if things end up not working out in the end, you can amicably split with no children involved or affected. Just my two cents.
People might also have different expectations coming into marriage depending on their ages. Dr. McMahon says that the immaturity of the cornerstone couple can produce problems, but their insecurities will keep them together in all but the most challenging situations. “And time does heal wounds in all but the worst marriages. Many ‘outlast’ their problems,” the expert shared.“In the capstone wedding, these people have finished college and grad school, got settled in their careers, maybe a house, car, (and sometimes a child or two) and then looked for that ‘perfect mate’ who they could settle down and commit themselves to,” Dr. McMahon continued. “They realize that ‘perfect’ doesn’t exist.”
People might also have different expectations coming into marriage depending on their ages. Dr. McMahon says that the immaturity of the cornerstone couple can produce problems, but their insecurities will keep them together in all but the most challenging situations. “And time does heal wounds in all but the worst marriages. Many ‘outlast’ their problems,” the expert shared.
“In the capstone wedding, these people have finished college and grad school, got settled in their careers, maybe a house, car, (and sometimes a child or two) and then looked for that ‘perfect mate’ who they could settle down and commit themselves to,” Dr. McMahon continued. “They realize that ‘perfect’ doesn’t exist.”
Adjusting to living together might also be different for younger vs. older couples. “The cornerstone couple needs the wedding showers for the pots and pans and blenders. The capstone couple have had double of those, and often have had to make hard choices about living in ‘your place, my place’ or get a new home together,” Dr. McMahon explained.“The cornerstone couple needed to learn to live with each other after living with their parents or roommates. The capstone couple have often gone past that stage and learned to live alone and establish a life that is ‘just so’ the way they like it,” the expert continued.“There are conflicts in both, but these are different issues, as the younger couple might not have firm opinions, while the older couple might have tried several options before settling on what each likes best. The older couple might have the ability to compromise, but also the time to be whetted to why they thinktheirway is best.”
Adjusting to living together might also be different for younger vs. older couples. “The cornerstone couple needs the wedding showers for the pots and pans and blenders. The capstone couple have had double of those, and often have had to make hard choices about living in ‘your place, my place’ or get a new home together,” Dr. McMahon explained.
“The cornerstone couple needed to learn to live with each other after living with their parents or roommates. The capstone couple have often gone past that stage and learned to live alone and establish a life that is ‘just so’ the way they like it,” the expert continued.
“There are conflicts in both, but these are different issues, as the younger couple might not have firm opinions, while the older couple might have tried several options before settling on what each likes best. The older couple might have the ability to compromise, but also the time to be whetted to why they thinktheirway is best.”
I had just turned 24, she was 22. I told her right off that I loved her and was going to marry her and we eloped about a month later. We celebrated our 23rd anniversary in December. We have a son, and are still very in love with each other. I’ve done a lot of dumb things in my life, getting married is the smartest thing I’ve done. Unfortunately she is very sick and will only get worse as time goes on, but I wouldn’t change our time together for anything. I love her and being with her is the best thing that has ever happened to me.
Dr. McMahon also says that younger couples often bring children into a jello that has not yet firmly formed. “These women may delay career advancement to stay home with children, and their earlier-career incomes make this appear more doable. Maybe they work a part-time job, when a parent or partner can care for the children.”On the other hand, older couples have likely put off children for a long time and now feel the biological pressure to start a family sooner rather than later. “They might have saved for an extended maternity leave, or have the seniority to rework their jobs for a while. But leaving their careers entirely is often impractical and undesirable for financial and emotional reasons,” Dr. McMahon shared. “The offspring ‘move in with’ these capstone parents, whereas the cornerstone parents ‘move in’ with their child(ren).”
Dr. McMahon also says that younger couples often bring children into a jello that has not yet firmly formed. “These women may delay career advancement to stay home with children, and their earlier-career incomes make this appear more doable. Maybe they work a part-time job, when a parent or partner can care for the children.”
On the other hand, older couples have likely put off children for a long time and now feel the biological pressure to start a family sooner rather than later. “They might have saved for an extended maternity leave, or have the seniority to rework their jobs for a while. But leaving their careers entirely is often impractical and undesirable for financial and emotional reasons,” Dr. McMahon shared. “The offspring ‘move in with’ these capstone parents, whereas the cornerstone parents ‘move in’ with their child(ren).”
Married at 25 divorcing at 47. Communication is key. Try to argue a little too, we never did.
I married my high school sweetheart when I was 23 and he was 25 after we’d dated for nine years. We just celebrated our 10-year wedding anniversary and are expecting our first kiddo in a couple of months. We started seeing each other when we were young, and we sort of shaped each other’s personality. We are still independent people and definitely have our own likes/dislikes/hobbies/etc., but we do share a lot of interests, and there is an inherent comfort and understanding between us, since we have now been together for over half of our lives.
Married at 23, over 20 years later the kids are grown, we’re still together and happy. Kids have actually thanked us at different points for still being together because their friends always had f****d up family situations and we didn’t.It’s not always easy. If you start from a place of “we said for as long as we live, and we mean it” solving marital arguments/problems promptly, fairly, and lovingly becomes the most important thing in life.
But regardless of when couples are gettingmarried, Dr. McMahon says we see a much deeper commitment to working on marriages and an acceptance of getting help in this generation. “The shame of ‘getting help’ is dramatically lessened regardless of the age of marriage,” she told Bored Panda. “Many see it as preventative. It might be SES that enables the capstone couples from getting it, rather than the fact that they ‘cherish’ their marriage more.”“But that might be true as the capstone couple have ‘worked for’ their relationships from the beginning,” the expert added. “The capstone couple often have had a prior dating history and know what ‘fish in the sea’ are out there. It might be that having married earlier, the cornerstone couple imagine that they ‘married the wrong Ms/Mr Right’ and divorce holds greater promise.”
But regardless of when couples are gettingmarried, Dr. McMahon says we see a much deeper commitment to working on marriages and an acceptance of getting help in this generation. “The shame of ‘getting help’ is dramatically lessened regardless of the age of marriage,” she told Bored Panda. “Many see it as preventative. It might be SES that enables the capstone couples from getting it, rather than the fact that they ‘cherish’ their marriage more.”
“But that might be true as the capstone couple have ‘worked for’ their relationships from the beginning,” the expert added. “The capstone couple often have had a prior dating history and know what ‘fish in the sea’ are out there. It might be that having married earlier, the cornerstone couple imagine that they ‘married the wrong Ms/Mr Right’ and divorce holds greater promise.”
Been with my wife since high school. 16 yrs later, 2 miscarriages, 1 child(7) later and this woman greets me at the door when I come home. We still just sit around laughing about any and everything, we understand we are a couple but we are individuals so we don’t take away from each others hobbies but instead celebrate them and grow them—I buy her crochet things and she gets me gaming stuff. I work and she stays home but she only wants to stay home until our kid is more capable of being alone cause she just misses it. We’ve won big and we’ve lost big together. During Covid we lost our house and all are things, I went into a deep depression and she talked me OUT OF WORKING and encouraged me to stay home and it took me awhile to adjust but I stayed home for a couple of YEARS and all she did was love me more. Our role switch was dope, I kept the house together, her clothes and our daughter’s clothes. I missed the first years of my daughters life so when Covid happened and I started to stay home it seemed like a reward cause I was able to build even further my relationship with my little girl. We are nowhere near where we want to be, it’s hard to go back when you’ve reached the proverbial “top” and lose it all but now we’re in a familiar city and we’re rebuilding—-together. More than anything I’m glad I didn’t let depression win, she’s been worth every bit of this life and thankfully I’ve been able to reciprocate….now for the adult part—man we been at it since we were kids and I’m telling she still get into a whole a*s waterfall and I’m still getting up on demand. In spite of everything we’ve gone thru in our life, we still love each other mentally and physically. It’s going freakin great
Married at 22. I was too immature to make such a decision. I woke up one morning and looked at my sleeping wife and said, to myself, who is this person and how and why am I even here?We divorced and I’m happily remarried.
Dr. McMahon also noted that the cornerstone women who put off careers in favor of children do make a contribution to society too; they just do it when they’re older. “By their 40’s, the kids are grown, and it is often a time they focus on themselves,” she explained. “These cornerstone couples may have more economic stress as a result, earlier on, and a smaller retirement account for the women to rely on if they divorce.”
We met and started dating in 8th grade at 14, married at 23, and will be celebrating our 16 year anniversary this year. When you find the right person to make a team with, it’s easy to wake up every day and look forward to life with her!.
I had turned 20 less than a week before and he’d just turned 19. We stayed married for 5 miserable years and 2 kids before I asked for a divorce. And it truly was misery the entire time.We’ve now been divorced for over 10 years and there’s an ocean between us and we have a great sibling-like relationship lol.
We were in the same dorm and met her first day of college. Instant connection. Started dating officially like 3 days later. Married at 22 and 21 respectively. 14 years later we have three kids including newborn twins. Life is as good as can be.
At the end of the day, the therapist says there’s no wrong age to getmarried. “Other than in pure financial terms (and this is a big ‘but’ as money worries do impact marriage greatly) let me use this metaphor about these marriages: The cornerstone marriage might be thought of as a shimmering dress with hundreds of jewels, whereas a capstone marriage might be more like a satin dress with a large diamond necklace. Both are gorgeous if you have the opportunity to wear them, they are just different.”If you’d like to hear more wise words about marriage and relationships, be sure to visitCouples Therapy Inc!
At the end of the day, the therapist says there’s no wrong age to getmarried. “Other than in pure financial terms (and this is a big ‘but’ as money worries do impact marriage greatly) let me use this metaphor about these marriages: The cornerstone marriage might be thought of as a shimmering dress with hundreds of jewels, whereas a capstone marriage might be more like a satin dress with a large diamond necklace. Both are gorgeous if you have the opportunity to wear them, they are just different.”
If you’d like to hear more wise words about marriage and relationships, be sure to visitCouples Therapy Inc!
Married at 19, still married to the same guy at 63. For all of the ups and downs of our marriage there is still great love there BUT I do wish that I had experienced a more independent, adult life, since I never went to college and I also went directly from my parents’ house to my married house.Also, in 1980 if was so much more the norm to get married rather than live together, so there was that pressure too, to get married before settling down.
Both under 25. Marriage lasted a year and a month. Too young, too poor, too idealistic. We both went on to happy and successful long term second marriages. My wife and I were married for 38 years.
Got married at 23 and became parents at 24. We’re now 15 years in, and we’re doing fine. He’s still my best friend and we rarely fight. We started dating at 17 and 18, so it’s not as if it was a short relationship. Honestly, I’m sure part of the reason we’re never going to get divorced is that neither one of us has any desire at all to date again. It sounds terrible.
Both under 25 when we married. 41st wedding anniversary this year.
I got married at 18, decided to leave at 19, found out I was pregnant so I stayed, tried to make it work, had another kid at 23 and asked for a divorce at 25. Finalized in 1992. Have not remarried because that one was enough for 10 lifetimes.
Met senior year of college. Dated a year before we got engaged and then married a year later. Married at 23 and will be celebrating our 28th anniversary this year! We have 2 kids and we love each other more than ever.
Married at 23, will be married 19 years this year. Going great, he’s my best friend. We have 2 kids out of the house and 2 still home (1 in college, 1 in high school). It’s fun planning for retirement and being able to travel now that the kids are older (sometimes with them, sometimes without). It wasn’t always easy, and we did marriage counseling twice, but our love never wavered and we meant our vows.
Married at 18 husband 21. He died when he was 49. He told me when we got married and all the way through our marriage he wouldn’t reach 50.
See Also on Bored Panda
Continue reading with Bored Panda PremiumUnlimited contentAd-free browsingDark modeSubscribe nowAlready a subscriber?Sign In
Continue reading with Bored Panda Premium
Unlimited contentAd-free browsingDark mode
Unlimited content
Ad-free browsing
Dark mode
Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber?Sign In
Started dating when 18/19, got married at 25 and about to hit 50 together soon.Still love the hell out of that lady.
I was less than 3 months from my 25th birthday when I got married. I was too young emotionally and didn’t listen to my gut or pay attention to the red flags…We divorced 16 years later…It should have been sooner, but I had to grow up and realize the issues and then get the nerve to leave. That was 7 years ago, and I love myself so much more than back then. Still single, but I’m also not settling for less than I’m worth.
Met at 21. Had a daughter at 23. Married at 24. Divorced at 29. Had two more kids and currently remarried my current husband.My ex husband and I were both very young and not ready for what we did. After years together we grew apart. I changed and he didn’t. That was part of the problem. He is a 21 year old in the body of a 37 year old.
Met at 21, married at 24. A ROUGH decade together with good times sprinkled in, a couple of kids, and miraculously it’s now a dream marriage after I told him I was filing for divorce at the end of last year. I’m as shocked as you are, but very happily so. He saw he was going to lose everything and completely changed for the better and now he says he’s never been happier in his life.But, I’d still recommend to younger people to wait until you’re at least late 20s to marry at the earliest.
We were married at 25 and it’s going well.We’re 41 now, have four kids, a nice house, and two good jobs.
Divorced - I’m doing great. kids are doing great. ex is an obese alcoholic recluse about to get ejected from her third marriage.
Next year (2025), I turn 32 and will celebrate my 10th anniversary. I lucked out to have an amazing partner that has changed alongside me without falling out of love.I do wish I had allowed myself more time to be a fun crazy single bachelor before my marriage, though. But I’m sure some people would happily trade their wild stories and memories for the stability and comfort I have now. 🤷🏻♂️.
Still married- going on 23 years.
Married at ages 18-20. Still together, 24 years, (40-42)things are getting better with age and time .
Married at 21 and 22, we’ll be married 17 years this year. It’s not been all good, but there have been far more good times than bad and we’ve had quite the adventure together.
Got married at 18, one week after high school graduation. Divorced at 21 after my third deployment when I learned she slept with my former stepdad. They’ve been married for 15 years now.
Together 10 years later, married at 22 & 24, going better than ever!Do not recommend early marriage though, at the very least don’t if you’re resistant to bringing in a therapist to learn new communication tools. My husband and I grew into completely different people as we came into ourselves and started unpacking the less-than-healthy lessons and relationship models our parents imparted on us and we just lucked out that the compromises on our needs met a good enough state we could agree on and our efforts in couple’s therapy to get back on the same page helped us be happy again. It took a lot of conflict and disagreement to get to that point though, and I wouldn’t wish that stress on anyone.Also, the standards you set in your early relationship are the standards that will carry throughout the relationship. I’m lucky that my husband has always taken responsibility for maintaining our home and performing house labor, but the only other people I knew who got married around the same time ended up divorced largely because the girl thought love was going to motivate a dude who thought his only obligation to a marriage was make money and show up into taking on their part of the home labor, despite no indications in early dating it was a value they held.
Married at 26, I knew at the time it wasn’t a perfect match, but people kept saying no relationship was perfect so we forced it. They were wrong. That relationship was not perfect so we divorced 10 years later and now I’m with the most perfect person I’ve ever met. If you’re not 100%, don’t get married, 80%-90% good isn’t good enough.
We got together at 18, and we lasted till for 10 years . He wanted to live a single life, and I gave it to him .
Married at 24. Still going strong after 38 years. Got a daughter and 2 grandkids. We’re both retired now, living our best lives.
My best friend married at 22, despite everybody telling him not to, after cheating multiple times on his wife he’s now separated with two children and as miserable as you could imagine.
She is leaving after 13+ years because and I quote “the grass is greener somewhere else”.
Married at 22. We are still together and going strong despite the fact that I have severe health anxiety at 31 and I feel bad that my wife has to deal with this 😑.
Married at 22 49 now still married.
Married at 19. Divorced and remarried now.
Married at 23, going on 17 years. The seven year itch was rough but otherwise good.
Married at 25. Divorced at 25. Life is so much better without that hoe.
Modal closeAdd Your Answer!Not your original work?Add sourcePublish
Modal close
Add Your Answer!Not your original work?Add sourcePublish
Not your original work?Add sourcePublish
Not your original work?Add source
Modal closeModal closeOoops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.UploadUploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermarkChangeSourceTitleUpdateAdd Image
Modal closeOoops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.UploadUploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermarkChangeSourceTitleUpdateAdd Image
Ooops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.
Upload
UploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermark
Error occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.
TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermark
InstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermark
FacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermark
ChangeSourceTitle
You May Like“A Few Times Per Day”: 30 Surprising Answers To How Often People Regret Marrying Their PartnerMonika PašukonytėMan Secretly Saves $20k To Get Wife’s Mouth ‘Fixed’: “She’s Become Another Woman”Ieva Pečiulytė“My Marriage Seems To Be Over”: Man Admits To A 6-Year Affair, Learns Truth About WifeMantas Kačerauskas
Monika Pašukonytė
Ieva Pečiulytė
Mantas Kačerauskas
Relationships
