You can always find examples of young marriages that do last. Maybe you know someone who tells you that their grandparents got married at 18 and stayed married for the next 70 years.
However, from a statistical point of view, these marriages have the highest divorce rate. They tend to fail more often than marriages that begin in a person’s mid-30s. Why does this happen?
Growing apart
One thing that can happen is that couples grow apart or change significantly, so they no longer feel the same as they did when they were younger. Remember that a person’s prefrontal cortex is not even fully developed until around 25 years old. Someone who is 28 may feel much different than they did at 18, so the relationship may no longer make sense.
Financial hurdles
Additionally, young couples often face more financial hurdles because they are not very advanced in their careers or may still be in school. This can create a lot of stress when they are first starting out, which can lead to divorce.
Rushing into it
Finally, many couples who get married at 18 or 19 later say that they feel like they rushed into it. They may feel that they missed out on life experiences they wanted to have. After the initial excitement wears off, they may start to regret getting married so young.
For all these reasons and more, couples get divorced every year. If you believe you and your partner are heading in this direction, take the time to carefully look into all of the legal steps you will need to take to protect your rights and navigate the divorce process.