Before the 2000s, the baby boomers and the X generation started married life very early, getting married in their early 20s and slowly building their homes and families without worrying about financial conditions, lifestyle, or anything else that might stand in the way of marriage.Â
There’s a new wave of marriages of the same age happening again, no matter how different the baby boomers, X and Z generations are from each other, there is one thing they have in common: young marriage. Just as in the era of people born in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, young people have remarried at an age that is now often seen as “premature” by those same people, but which in those decades were normal ages for getting married, having children and a home.
Millie Bobby Brown and Jake Bongiovi
Many young people around the world have married early. Still, the ones who attract the most attention are the famous ones — actress Millie Bobby Brown, 20, married American model Jake Bongiovi, 22, in May 2024. After Millie released her wedding photos, what caught her eye was her age and that of her spouse, as well as her dress and decorations for the ceremony.Â
The couple’s ceremony was performed by actor Matthew Moline, from Stranger Things, who wrote the wedding vows and moved the bride and groom. Generation Z has been more detached from the traditional and the imposed needs, the celebrants are different, and there is no longer a requirement to graduate from college or to have everything complete to get married, in terms of marriage, Z is turning to the custom of X.
Larissa Manoela and André Luiz Frambach
Millie isn’t the only one who got married early and generated comments, the actress Larissa Manoela, 23, got married at the end of 2023 to actor AndrĂ© Luiz Frambach, 27. After releasing the photos of her intimate wedding unexpectedly to the public, Larissa told us a while later how she and AndrĂ© decided to get married.
The actress and singer told the PodDelas podcast that the decision came as a surprise to everyone and the wedding was organized in just two months, Larissa and AndrĂ© got married in the middle of recording the series De Volta Aos 15. The wedding took place in the couple’s home in an intimate and unique way, and was described by the actress as: “It was the best possible way”.
Marriage and Age
Clinical psychologist Sylvia Collyer, who also works with couples, explains what the new generation has in common with the old when it comes to marriage:
“I think it’s the desire to form their nucleus, the desire to have security, to have a partnership, to have their values and beliefs in their generation shared with someone else who thinks the same way. I think that this is the main similarity. I think that the young generation today comes from a previous generation that has very much deconstructed this view and missed it since the previous generation very much questioned the family model, the conceptions family… a generation that felt less secure in the pillar of the home, in the pillar of roles, of hierarchical roles, of clarity in the format of the family and I believe that this was the main driving force behind young people seeking to start families, getting married, seeking their reference earlier, seeking to feel more welcomed and stronger.”
Sylvia also explains why the age of marriage has fallen again and why the new generation has this desire:
“Except for young people who have a belief in values and principles that they bring from their previous generation and are very grounded in spiritual and religious matters, in these young people I believe there is a similarity with the previous generation because from this point of view beliefs and values are being passed down from generation to generation. When it doesn’t come from this base and this viewpoint, young people are more in need of solid foundations, they are feeling lonely and helpless from a very early age at home. So I believe that the main reason is not religious, I believe it is the search for solidity and companionship at home because this deconstruction has brought a lot of loneliness and exposure to young people, which they are seeking to remedy with a new look.”
When talking about generations and the similarities between them, Collyer points out that the purpose and the motivation of marriage today are not the same as in the past and explains why:
“I think we need to make a distinction, today what I see of the older generation was a conservative generation, it was a large part of society marrying early because that was what was expected, so generations were going by and the teaching was that, you become an adult, you start a family, you work, you start taking care of your core, you develop based on the family and for the family. Today I don’t believe that the vast majority do it with that in mind, although the need and search are the same, but the values, what motivates them is to make up for the lack and to satisfy or fill spaces that have been left empty.”
Sylvia Collyer explains the real reason why marriages are failing again and gives her view as a clinical psychologist on the subject:
“The vast majority I believe are looking to satisfy their own needs, their loneliness, helplessness… so when I have my home, when I have my husband, my wife, I will be happier, someone will love me. My perception and opinion of young marriage is positive, I do believe that a marriage between young people can be lasting, can be good, I believe that marrying young preserves experiences of relationships that can bring marks to a marriage… the dream of marriage for young people can be a very good impetus for a solid marriage, my warning is that these young people can have instructions for this and seek in healthy and marriage is, so that it enters with more awareness and more purpose, in addition to desires, emotions and dreams, so that it is more solid and has more foundation to be lasting.”
An analysis of marriage in youth shows that Generation Z and its stars have been getting married earlier and earlier because they want to acquire more independence. When they get married, they start a life as a couple and only as a couple, being able to make their own decisions, desires, and wishes with only their partner by their side.
The case of Millie Bobby Brown and Larissa Manoela shows how two actresses who practically grew up in front of the cameras and had their lives exposed from a very young age, wanted to have more independence and make their own decisions and, when they reached such a important stage in their lives as marriage, the comments would not go unnoticed. The actresses are hugely influential on social media, inspiring many people, and marriage at a young age will certainly be no different.
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The article above was edited by Clarissa Palácio.
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