Minimum age for marriage is now 18

I’m pleased with this change . It’s unlikely to stop all early marriages but sends a clear messages to those communities who see 13 as old enough to marry their girls off thst legally this isn’t allowed here

Blimey that one passed me by entirely.

Mind you, don’t most people simply set up shop together now before they eventually marry, and presumably parents have no say over that.

So I guess it may be sending a message to those communities that see marriage as the be all and end all for women, but not entirely sure it will work.

But in principle I am for it. But teenagers always know best☺️

FYI, there’s an existing thread on this in chat.

Oh thanks, I hadn't noticed it!

Passed me by too Whitewavemark. I think it's a good thing but as you say the majority live together before getting married, and seem to be older now too.

Here it is
www.gransnet.com/forums/chat/1321662-Legal-marriage-age

Iam64

I’m pleased with this change . It’s unlikely to stop all early marriages but sends a clear messages to those communities who see 13 as old enough to marry their girls off thst legally this isn’t allowed here

The change surely sends the clear message you note.

For myself, I'm delighted we married at 16, but suppose we could have happily married the day I turned 18 - no point really.

I married at 17 ,biggest mistake of my life
People didn't live together then before marriage.if they could .I wouldn't have married .I realised my mistake after about 6 months

I was proposed to at 17. I had enough sense to say no. I had an awful lot of living to do before I got married. He eventually moved away and we didn't keep in touch. Even at 18 I wouldn't have been ready to marry anyone.
I think it is a good move. A person is not considered an adult until 18.

I know several couples who married young 18 or younger and they have all had long happy marriages ,mind you the mortality age in some parts of Scotland is only 50 something so maybe they want to just get on with living .My OH was a month past his 20 th birthday whe we got married ,exactly a year after we met ,we've been married 48 years.
Not all young marriages fail just like all the one who marry later.In fact I know more people who split after living together for 10 years or more before marrying and they divorce within months .
One size doesn't fit all !

One size doesn't fit all !

I will agree with that statement but think this is a sensible move. Does this just apply in England?

Aren't pupils supposed to stay in education or training until 18?

I think it's very valuable to make very early marriages clearly illegal in the UK.
I don't really see the point in getting married/civil partnerships until children come along or if you've tried living together first tho.

Those who got married at 16 and are now celebrating their golden, silver., etc., anniversaries might want to breath a sigh of relief!

Definitely a good move but 18 is still too young to marry. I married in my teens and was far too young, as was my husband. In those days no-one lived together before they got married, so marrying was the only way to be together. We divorced eventually and I met my lovely second DH, so all turned out well for me in the end. How much more sensible to give living together a try before marrying. Doesn't always work out, of course. I know a couple who were together for several years before marrying and split one year after the wedding. There are no guarantees!

Grantanow

Those who got married at 16 and are now celebrating their golden, silver., etc., anniversaries might want to breath a sigh of relief!

Indeed.

Married over 60 yrs ago at age 16.

No living together first.

I support this change.

That said, one of my brother's married at 17 (16 year old girlfriend was pregnant) they've been happily together for 55 years.

He is is the only one of the five of us to have had this longevity!

I got married at 20 and I was far too young. We had to get married, NO I was not pregnant that was before EU and we had to for immigration reasons, we could not have lived together had we not married. Still together 52 years later, but 18 is far too young and I am glad this new Law is in force, for all the girls pushed into arranged marriages mainly.

I understand the thinking behind the decision, but it did make me chortle. Only one of my children married before 30, two of them were in their forties, and one daughter has been with her OH since they were teenagers and married last year after fifteen years.
I'd like to know the ages of GN ers children marrying- I suspect few will have wed in their teens.

I support the change as well. While 18 is still terribly young it’s what we consider an “adult” and so that’s the minimum. I was a younger bride at 19, and it was difficult though I wouldn’t change a thing. So far our kids have married at 27, 26, and 21. On the younger side but all are
Thriving and well. We have two unmarried as well - 22 and 30 at present.

I wish I'd had a trial marriage for my first one (and I was 21). The second one (before which we lived together for a couple of years) worked out fine - 40 years and counting.

Grantanow

I wish I'd had a trial marriage for my first one (and I was 21). The second one (before which we lived together for a couple of years) worked out fine - 40 years and counting.

Looking back, it was quite cruel that 'trial marriages' were taboo in those days, very early 60s in my case. There was no birth control pill then, of course, and girls had it drummed into them that marriage must come before sex in case of an unwanted pregnancy - 'good girls just say no'. Naturally, many couples ignored this nonsense but single parents were very frowned upon and the phrase 'fallen woman' was not unknown in our part of London. Many early marriages came about for these reasons. Things are so much better now.

Do you remember hearing many years ago on the BBC, daughter missing, father heading for Gretna Green?
People can still get married in Scotland at the age of 16.

I remember those stories, mokryna. I wonder how many of those Gretna Green marriages survived?

NotTooOld

Grantanow

I wish I'd had a trial marriage for my first one (and I was 21). The second one (before which we lived together for a couple of years) worked out fine - 40 years and counting.

Looking back, it was quite cruel that 'trial marriages' were taboo in those days, very early 60s in my case. There was no birth control pill then, of course, and girls had it drummed into them that marriage must come before sex in case of an unwanted pregnancy - 'good girls just say no'. Naturally, many couples ignored this nonsense but single parents were very frowned upon and the phrase 'fallen woman' was not unknown in our part of London. Many early marriages came about for these reasons. Things are so much better now.

When are you talking about? Birth control was available from the mid early 60s, and certainly freely available from the mid 60s.

Many of my friends played Russian roulette, and many got pregnant, had babies very young or one or several abortions.

Some, like me, went to their GP and said 'I am sexually active and want to do the responsible thing, please could you put me on the pill'. He knew my parents well, but shook my hand and said 'good for you, yes of course' and kept stum.