Studies have found that couples have higher odds of divorce if they get married younger. It used to be common for people to get married in their early 20s, for example, but many relationship experts suggest waiting until at least 28 years old.
But why is it that getting married too young makes the relationship less stable? What types of problems actually lead to the divorce?
Growing and changing
A big part of the issue is that people are often growing up and changing a lot at this age. They may adopt new belief systems or have shifting values. They may have new behavior patterns. Even human brain development of the frontal lobe doesn’t finish until around 25, so people can simply change quite a bit at this time.
This doesn’t mean that marriage at a young age can’t work. Some people get married and then they change in ways that are still compatible. They may even change together as they learn more about the world during their marriage.
But what often happens is that people begin to feel different and they can tell that their partner is also different, but the relationship just doesn’t feel the same as when it began. It’s clear that the two people are no longer compatible and would not have gotten married if they had met at that age. Often, this leads them to seek a divorce, perhaps so they can find a partner who is better for them at this stage in their life.
Some of these divorces are amicable, and people can get along and work toward a positive future. But others can grow contentious, especially around issues like property division or child custody rights. Couples need to know exactly what legal options they have.