What celebrities getting married younger means for the Gen-Z at large

Earlier this April, Millie Bobby Brown shocked the Internet by confirming her engagement with Jake Bongiovi. The Stranger Things actress and the son of the legendary singer, Jon Bongiovi, faced a ton of criticism on Twitter regarding their engagement due to their ages. Brown is 19 and Bongiovi is 20. 

Twitter India was buzzing with the hashtag #sheis19, with people ridiculing her for getting engaged at an age that no longer matches societal standards. However, Brown is not the only celebrity who has done so. Movie mogul Anurag Kashyap’s daughter Aaliyah Kashyap recently got engaged to her long-time boyfriend, Shane Gregoire at the age of 22. Superstar Aamir Khan’s daughter Ira Khan got married at the age of 25 in 2022. Hailey Beiber also famously married her pop sensation husband Justin Bieber at 21. Kylie Jenner had her first baby at the age of 20. Albeit she didn’t get married, but it was still a lifestyle change that she received major backlash for. For the common public, the aforementioned ages can be seen as very young to be making decisions like these. So why are these celebrities settling down so early in their lives? 

Statistics shown by the government of India suggest that the younger generations are not marrying as early as their predecessors, and the average age of marriage has also increased drastically. The more educated a woman is, the longer she waits to get married and according to the statistics, the general public would rather prioritise creative fulfillment and financial security over getting married in today’s day and age. But the worries that common folk have about their own lives don’t impact celebrities in the same way and these stars make it seem like the idea of marriage is a much easier feat than it is to the onlooking common folk. 

The crazy part about this phenomenon is the fact that they’re defying societal standards in a way that hasn’t been seen before. Women had fought long and hard to marry later in life and to be given the chance to have an education and career, but a lot of that has come with the change in gender roles over time as well. Women are now also expected to work and make an income, unlike before when being a housewife was the norm. Financial security is a stressor for most of the world, and so marriage takes a backseat in comparison to securing one’s financial success. Celebrities, on the other hand, usually come from affluent backgrounds where financial security would probably not be their biggest cause of stress. 

“The questions of insecurity, mobility, and settlement are not equally applicable to celebrities who mainly hail from well-to-do classes. Whereas the general public look for a stable relationship and marriage and therefore are more cautious in their unconscious. Celebrities, given their social background, are more adventurous and can take life as it comes. So a marriage decision is almost like a here and now. This is the essential contrast,” said Dr Abhijit Kundu, an author and associate professor of Sociological Theories and Methods, and Media Studies at Sri Venkateswara College, New Delhi. 

When we look back at generations of celebrities who got married young, from Kim Kardashian to Macaulay Culkin, even Olivia Wilde, we see the different dynamics in relationships and trends. When they were getting married, it was seen differently than seeing a young up-and-coming celebrity’s engagement now. Getting married young in the 90s and 2000s was a normal occurrence, but not anymore, a fact proven by statistics. So the question still remains; why hasn’t the idea of marriage changed for celebrities in the same way that the general public’s opinions on marriage have? 

Dr Kundu said, “In terms of exercising choice in selection of spouse, people are becoming more tentative. This might be as a result of a lot many marital discords (unhappy marriages) witnessed by the new generation.” Meaning that people aren’t afraid to break away from unhappy relationships and are becoming a lot more picky in terms of making a lifelong commitment like marriage. He continued, “Also the new age is opting for live-in relationships and decide to solemnise it into marriage late, as and when they realize the legal advantages essentially pertaining to property and inheritance.”

Most regular folks presently do not necessarily need the whole marriage ordeal as much as they did in the past. Marriage for a lot of people now is more a formality than a necessity. A person unmarried at a certain age was seen as a disgrace to the family in earlier periods in time, but not anymore. Although still not completely celebrated, a person focusing on their career instead of marriage is not as much of a taboo as it used to be and is seen as quite normal. In the case of celebrities, being in the limelight with eyes constantly on them, they aren’t able to be as free to do whatever they want without the social commentary that they are subjected to. Whether it was Priyanka Chopra’s marriage to Nick Jonas, who is 10 years younger than her, or Kareena Kapoor Khan’s marriage to Saif Ali Khan who was not only older than her but also in another long-term marriage prior; these are just a few examples of when celebrities were heavily criticised by the public for their personal life choices. The scrutiny they face is never ending, and their circumstances continue to differentiate exponentially since their lifestyles are not comparable to the general public. 

Before the next Instagram engagement announcement of a celebrity makes you sad or confused, remember that while there is a sociological explanation behind the phenomenon, you can get married at any time you want, and perhaps that is the best part of this expanding understanding of love and partnership. The freedom of being able to pursue your dreams and get married whenever you feel like it is a blessing that should not be ignored. Building your life on your terms is what matters the most, whether you’re a celebrity or the farthest thing from one.

Feature Image: @khan.ira /Instagram