Love doesn’t wait for the perfect age. For some celebrities, they thought they had found the one before turning 20. While the marriages weren’t likely to last, their whirlwind romances resulted in teenage weddings. You’d be surprised to discover how many of the celebrities you know and love thought they were ready for marriage right out of high school. Some even married before they were 18.
It might seem sweet that a celebrity married their high school sweetheart right after graduation or they fell in love before fame took over their lives. The problem is most of them realized they were far too young to handle the responsibility of being a married couple when most teens their age were heading to college or starting a career. Sadly, these early celebrity marriages often end in divorce. Of course, that’s not too different than some famous couples who wait and still only last a few years.
Whether it was based on love or an unexpected pregnancy, celebrity teens aren’t much different than normal teens. They thought they knew what was best. They followed their hearts or hormones as the case may be. They may not have been quite ready to take the big “I do” plunge, but at least they thought they were. As with most things, you live and learn. At the very least, they’ll know what to expect for marriages later in life.
Don’t worry if your early marriage didn’t last. These celebrities couldn’t make it work either. Just look at how well these 15 well known celebs turned out despite an early heartbreak.
15 Solange Knowles - 19
Solange Knowles was only 17 when she married Daniel Smith. The high school sweat hearts just couldn’t make it work though. The two split when Solange when just 19. On top of all this, she also gave birth to her son Daniel Julez before she even turned 18. While most 17 year-olds are excited for their senior year and finishing their college applications, Beyonce’s little sister had already had a child and tied the knot. It might not have been the dream come true she wanted, but she was only made stronger for the experience in the end.
14 Olivia Wilde - 19
Just as her film career was taking off, Olivia Wilde secretly married Tao Ruspoli. She was only 19 at the time and chose to pledge her love to an Italian prince’s son. Ruspoli was also a musician and filmmaker. The odd wedding was held in a school bus with just two witnesses. Wilde claimed they chose a bus because it offered the most privacy. It’s not the fairytale wedding you’d expect from an up and coming movie star, but it’s probably the last place the paparazzi would look. She tells Glamour now that the two were too young. Still, the marriage lasted for eight years before the couple divorced in 2011.
13 Macaulay Culkin- 17
Though he’s not in the news or on TV as often as he once was, it’s hard not to remember Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone. The famous child actor fell in love with Rachel Miner and married her when he was only 17. Alas, the young love between the two actors faded away and the two separated just two years later. It was still two more years before the divorce was finalized. The main reason for the divorce - Miner was ready to settle down and start a family while Culkin was eager to get back into acting.
12 Kim Kardashian - 19
It’s no surprise to discover Kim Kardashian was a teen bride. The simple elopement is far from what you’d expect from a Kardashian wedding. She was only 19 when she ran off with music producer Damon Thomas to Las Vegas. What is surprising is the marriage lasted for four years before the two divorced. Even young, the marriage managed to far outlast the infamous Kris Humphries marriage. Obviously, her first marriage didn’t slow her down at all. Now she’s expecting her second child with husband Kanye West.
11 Melanie Griffith - 18
Melanie Griffith’s mother might be partially to blame for her daughter’s teenage marriage. Griffith was only 14 when she first began dating the then 22 year-old Don Johnson, who was also her mother’s co-star at the time. The teen was playing an extra in The Harrad Experiment. The eight year age gap didn’t phase the pair at all, though the couple waited until she turned 18 to marry. Sadly, the marriage only lasted six months. Despite a failed marriage, the two found each other again 12 years later and married a second time. This time the marriage lasted for seven years.
10 Drew Barrymore - 19
Drew Barrymore seemed eager to get married at a young age. She was engaged at 16 to Leland Hayward, which she later ended. Two years later, she was engaged yet again to Jamie Walters. Even after calling off two engagements before she even turned 20, Barrymore still managed to get married as a teenager. She chose to forgo marrying anyone in the business and opted for a Welsh bartender instead. She married Jeremy Thomas when she was 19. The two had only dated a mere six weeks before deciding to stay together forever. For them, forever only lasted two months before the divorcing.
9 Courtney Stodden - 17
Most know Courtney Stodden simply because she was a teenage bride. It’s the classic story of a teen marrying a much older man. Her story is one that couldn’t be escaped no matter how hard you tried. Stodden wanted nothing more than to be a reality TV star. She got her 15 minutes of fame and then some when she managed to catch the attention of 51 year-old Doug Hutchison. The 17 year-old’s notorious marriage only lasted two years before they separated due to the massive age difference. The two haven’t gotten divorced and even stated that they were getting back together in 2014.
8 Demi Moore - 18
Demi Moore chose to keep the name from her first husband and it’s the name she’s kept throughout her acting career. At just 18, she married rock musician Freddy Moore who was 30 at the time. The 12 year age difference didn’t seem to be too much of a problem for the two. They managed to stick it out for four years before calling it quits. The last name must have meant something to Moore since she chose to hold onto it, even after marrying and divorcing two more times to Bruce Willis and most recently, Ashton Kutcher.
7 LeAnn Rimes - 19
It’s not unusual for a singer to fall for a band member or backup dancer. LeAnn Rimes couldn’t help falling in love with Dean Sheremet who was her backup dancer at the time. The two started dating when Rimes was 18. A year later, the two wed and the teenage country star seemed happy and in love. They split eight years later due to rumors of Rimes having an affair with actor Eddie Cibrian. Shortly after both her and Cibrian’s marriages ended, Rimes and Cibrian married.
6 Milla Jovovich - 16
Many co-stars fall in love on set. The same was true for Milla Jovovich and Shawn Andrews. The two met on the set of Dazed and Confused. The actress was only 16 when she decided she knew exactly what she wanted in life. Andrews was already 21. The two ran off to Las Vegas to elope. Their romance was short lived when her mother stepped in. Obviously thinking her daughter was both dazed and confused, she had the marriage annulled only two months after the couple wed. Due to her young age, her mother had no trouble officially ending a marriage she never even had a chance to approve of.
5 Bo Derek - 18
Unlike many other celebrity teen marriages, Bo Derek really did find her true love at a young age. She first began dating John Derek when she was only 16 and he was 28. The two decided to move to Germany due to her young age. Their love prevailed and the two married when she was 18. Age and young love wasn’t a problem for the couple. They proved that if you are truly in love, things could work. They remained married and seemingly happy until John passed away 22 years later. She’s yet to remarry, though she is dating John Corbett.
4 Taylor Hanson - 19
Being a fan could lead to marriage - at least it did for Natalie Anne Bryant. She was a fan of the pop group Hanson and caught the attention of the then teenage Taylor Hanson. He fell in love with her and the two were wed when he was only 19. Despite fame at a young age and getting married before he even turned 20, the two are still together and going strong. They even have five kids together - three sons and two daughters. It’s the only other tale of teenage romance that managed to last on this entire list.
3 Elizabeth Taylor - 18
Elizabeth Taylor is almost as famous for her marriages as she is for her acting and humanitarian work. She’s never had any trouble finding love and marriage. In fact, she was married eight times in her life. The first one happened when Taylor was only 18. She married Nicholas Conrad Hilton, Jr., but it didn’t even last a full year before the two divorced. Despite having a three month honeymoon together, the couple divorced seven months later due to irreconcilable differences. One plus of the marriage is the publicity helped boost the success of her 1950 film Father of the Bride.
2 Cher- 18
For years, it was hard to think of Cher without Sonny. The infamous couple of Sonny and Cher seemed like the perfect Hollywood pairing. They even had their own show. Cher was only 18 when the two wed while Sonny was 29. Whether it was fame or love that kept them together, the couple lasted far longer than many others on this list. If it wasn’t for Sonny’s infidelity, the two may have lasted even longer than 11 years. Of course, his cheating might have been a sign of other problems. Either way, it’s another case of a young marriage with a sad ending.
1 Niki Taylor- 19
The beautiful model Niki Taylor found love early on with Matt Martinez, a 25 year-old linebacker for the Miami Hooters at the time. The young Taylor was a mere 19 when the two wed. The two got busy quick and Taylor gave birth to twin sons (Hunter and Jake) before her 20th birthday. Sadly, even with children, the young couple’s marriage didn’t survive. They divorced just two years later. She went on to find love again and even had two more children. She’s still married to her second husband.
Sources: huffingtonpost.com, popsugar.com, madamenoire.com
