These Women Married And Divorced At A Young Age. Here's Why.

These Women Married And Divorced At A Young Age. Here's Why.

Getting a divorce when you're in your twenties is an odd experience. While all your friends are getting serious with significant others and planning their dream weddings on Pinterest, you're getting serious with a divorce attorney over pre-nups and spousal support.

The truth is, getting divorced at an early age isn't something most people take lightly -- and the judgement from outsiders certainly doesn't help. To acknowledge that, we've rounded up the most interesting responses from a recent Reddit thread that asked women who married and divorced young to share their stories.

See why these seven women made the decisions they did -- and what they learned from the whole experience -- below:

I married young because I thought love conquered all. I divorced because he was an alcoholic.
"He said he loved me. I had never even heard those words from my mother, so I was hooked. I got pregnant and he proposed. I really thought that love conquered all. It did not. It does not conquer alcoholism. It does not conquer growing up and going separate ways. We split after a year and divorced a year later. He died a year later, in a drunk driving accident. I love differently now. I keep my guard up. I am always preparing for when my partner leaves. But I also know that the love isn't all about excitement. Love is commitment. Love is a process. Love can change."

I married young because I loved him. I divorced because he was abusive.
"Married at 21, going through my divorce currently at 25. I loved him -- but he beat me up so I left."

I married young because I wanted to feel loved. I divorced because I want my son to be a better man than his dad.
"I got married at 19 because I wanted to be loved. If I would have said 'boo' at the time, he probably would have left me, so marriage meant security. I was pregnant and wanted to be married when my son was born. I left him when I was 24 because I couldn't handle the way he treated me anymore. He was a cruel person and I didn't want my son to grow up and think it was OK to treat women the way his dad did."

I married young because we were in love and it made sense financially. I divorced because of a miscarriage.
"We married just a month after my 18th birthday. He had turned 18 just a few months before. I loved him, he loved me and what we had was perfect. We didn't fight or argue, we agreed on mostly everything and enjoyed each other's company. We thought that after three years of dating it would be a good thing. I also married him so he'd be able to qualify for more scholarships for college. His parents were too poor to help him pay, but made too much for him to qualify to have everything covered by the government. Marrying him made it legal for me to share my extra college money with him.

Then we divorced. I honestly believe that we'd still be married today if I hadn't miscarried. In the years since, I have learned that it's hard on any couple to lose a child, regardless of age, especially if they blame themselves. It's hard to look your partner in the eye -- you feel hurt and ashamed. We're friends now, years after the divorce. We had spent the entire time apart heartbroken yet amicable, but we've both moved on now. I don't believe in forever anymore, but that's OK. I am a firm believer in right now, and right now, I think I made the right decisions."

I married young because I was pregnant. I divorced because he was unfaithful.
"I was 17, pregnant and scared. I didn't want to get an abortion, but didn't want to raise my child alone. We were divorced 18 months later because my husband (who was 18) was screwing everything in sight. Imagine that!

There's a happy ending, though. I went on to graduate high school, then university. My daughter grew up and also went to university and now she's in her junior year. I'm married now to an awesome man. We have two more children and I love my family. No regrets -- my firstborn made me want to be a better person."

I married young to escape a bad home environment. I divorced because of his abuse and infidelity.
"I married at 18 because I was in a bad position at home and my ex-boyfriend wanted to get back together and propose. I now have good reason to believe he'd actually proposed to others at the time -- I was the only one who said yes. He was in the military and he knew he'd get more money if he was married.

I got divorced three years later because my entire marriage was based on lies and unfaithfulness that more than once progressed to violence. Our relationship was riddled with emotional and verbal abuse. You think if you try hard enough that people will change and life will be wonderful... but then you grow up."

I married young because we were best friends. I divorced because we were bad for each other.
"I got married at 22 after dating my significant other for seven years (we had been together since we were 15). We went through all of high school and college together, so marrying was a 'next step' sort of thing. We were best friends, but it wasn't until after we were married that we realized that just because you're best friends doesn't mean you're supposed to get married. He wanted to stay young, party, drink, smoke, and I followed along because I wanted his attention. We got into some bad places, both physically and emotionally.

We were divorced by the time I turned 24. I would've stayed with him my whole life if I hadn't had woken up and realized I wanted to be a mom one day and I didn't want to die from an overdose or alcohol poisoning. I still miss him to this day. We got along so well and knew each other like the back of our hands. We were with each other though everything and it's still hard -- but quite frankly, we just weren't good for each other. If we had stayed together, we never would have grown up."

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Jane Levy

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