Ashley Clark, who wed her highschool sweetheart Detric at 19 in May 2015, is not any stranger to hearing the rebuke, “You’re too young for marriage.”
So, she empathizes with “Stranger Things” star Millie Bobby Brown, 19, who’s endured abject criticism on social media since announcing her engagement to rocker Jon Bon Jovi’s son, Jake Bongiovi, 20, via Instagram Tuesday.
The post sparked fierce online debate in regards to the appropriate age for a modern-day marriage. While virtual well-wishers congratulated the Gen Z fiancés, who’ve been together since November 2021, naysayers under the trending Twitter hashtag #Shes19 cautioned Brown against getting hitched as a teen, saying, partially, “This is completely not going to last” and “Don’t do it Millie.”
But Ashley, 27, who ignored similar warnings and is preparing to have fun eight years of wedded bliss next month, says the actress should hearken to her heart fairly than her haters.
“Screw them and screw what they think,” advised Ashley, a mom of three and a human resources executive for a digital tech company from Shreveport, La.
She and Detric, who’s also now 27 and works as a trucking entrepreneur, exchanged vows one yr after highschool graduation.
“We got a lot criticism,” Ashley told The Post. “People even tried to persuade my husband to go away me on the altar on our wedding day. But our love was strong. It was puppy love that grew into an influence couple love.”
Couples who get hitched at a young age — Justin and Hailey Bieber and Kevin and Danielle Jonas also tied the knot before the age of 25 — are definitely running counter to current societal trends.
Based on a recent report from virtual wedding hub the Knot, the typical age of first-time female newlyweds in 2022 was 30 (32 for males). That’s a couple of decade’s difference from 1960, when the typical age for a girl’s first marriage was 20.3 (22.8 for men), per a 2020 study out of Bowling Green State University.
Detractors of early marriage tell The Post that taking the plunge too soon is a recipe for emotional disaster.
“They don’t have any clue [what marriage is about],” Alyssa Shelasky, a 45-year-old mom and writer of the connection book, “This Might Be Too Personal,” told The Post, referring to Brown and Bongiovi.
“They’re young, dumb and in love. But, I don’t think they know anything about how life is about to hit them,” she added. “Life is difficult, parents get sick, you may have kids and that’s terrifying. There might be financial issues. Possibly they’ll survive life’s ups and downs together, but they probably won’t.”
In a TikTok post stamped with the hashtags #MillieBobbyBrown and #TooYoung, divorcee Luke Colson, a podcaster from Los Angeles, said that marrying as a teen can include devastating repercussions, noting “I got married quite young … the divorce was harrowing.”
“One doesn’t know what one is doing on the age of 19,” Colson continued. “You’ll be able to’t drink within the states until you’re 21. You’ll be able to’t drive a rental automotive until you’re 21, and in some states 25. But you’ll be able to sign your life away [in a marriage].”
Research seems to suggest that the “sweet spot” to wed is in a single’s late twenties or early thirties — anything younger (or older) risks a better likelihood of divorce, based on a widely cited 2015 evaluation.
But Manhattan relationship expert Rori Sassoon tells The Post that the success of a long-lasting and healthy matrimony is determined by communication and shared values, not age.
“Age is only a number. Marriage relies on love, respect and a foundation of friendship,” said Sassoon, writer of the brand new relationship book “The Art of Marriage.”
“How two people in a wedding communicate with each other is essential,” she added.
Ashley said that open and honest dialogue along with her husband is what allows their young like to age with grace.
“We got married young and we actually needed to learn one another,” she said. “We needed to learn learn how to comfort each other, we needed to learn to speak.
“And now, a lot beauty has blossomed out of our union.”
