Ashley Clark, who wed her high school sweetheart Detric at 19 in May 2015, is no stranger to hearing the rebuke, “You’re too young for marriage.”
So, she empathizes with “Stranger Things” star Millie Bobby Brown, 19, who’s endured abject criticism on social media since announcing her engagement to rocker Jon Bon Jovi’s son, Jake Bongiovi, 20, via Instagram Tuesday.
The post sparked fierce online debate about the appropriate age for a modern-day marriage. While virtual well-wishers congratulated the Gen Z fiancés, who’ve been together since November 2021, naysayers under the trending Twitter hashtag #Shes19 cautioned Brown against getting hitched as a teen, saying, in part, “This is absolutely not going to last” and “Don’t do it Millie.”
But Ashley, 27, who ignored similar warnings and is preparing to celebrate eight years of wedded bliss next month, says the actress should listen to her heart rather than her haters.
“Screw them and screw what they think,” advised Ashley, a mom of three and a human resources executive for a digital tech company from Shreveport, La.
She and Detric, who’s also now 27 and works as a trucking entrepreneur, exchanged vows one year after high school graduation.
“We got so much criticism,” Ashley told The Post. “People even tried to convince my husband to leave me at the altar on our wedding day. But our love was strong. It was puppy love that grew into a power couple love.”
Couples who get hitched at a young age — Justin and Hailey Bieber and Kevin and Danielle Jonas also tied the knot before the age of 25 — are certainly running counter to current societal trends.
According to a recent report from virtual wedding hub the Knot, the average age of first-time female newlyweds in 2022 was 30 (32 for males). That’s about a decade’s difference from 1960, when the average age for a woman’s first marriage was 20.3 (22.8 for men), per a 2020 study out of Bowling Green State University.
Detractors of early marriage tell The Post that taking the plunge too soon is a recipe for emotional disaster.
“They have no clue [what marriage is about],” Alyssa Shelasky, a 45-year-old mom and author of the relationship book, “This Might Be Too Personal,” told The Post, referring to Brown and Bongiovi.
“They’re young, dumb and in love. But, I don’t think they know anything about how life is about to hit them,” she added. “Life is hard, parents get sick, you have kids and that’s terrifying. There could be financial issues. Maybe they’ll survive life’s ups and downs together, but they probably won’t.”
In a TikTok post stamped with the hashtags #MillieBobbyBrown and #TooYoung, divorcee Luke Colson, a podcaster from Los Angeles, said that marrying as a teen can come with devastating repercussions, noting “I got married quite young … the divorce was harrowing.”
“One doesn’t know what one is doing at the age of 19,” Colson continued. “You can’t drink in the states until you’re 21. You can’t drive a rental car until you’re 21, and in some states 25. But you can sign your life away [in a marriage].”
Research seems to suggest that the “sweet spot” to wed is in one’s late twenties or early thirties — anything younger (or older) risks a higher likelihood of divorce, according to a widely cited 2015 analysis.
But Manhattan relationship expert Rori Sassoon tells The Post that the success of a lasting and healthy matrimony depends on communication and shared values, not age.
“Age is just a number. Marriage is based on love, respect and a foundation of friendship,” said Sassoon, author of the new relationship book “The Art of Marriage.”
“How two people in a marriage communicate with one another is key,” she added.
Ashley said that open and honest dialogue with her husband is what allows their young love to age with grace.
“We got married young and we really had to learn each other,” she said. “We had to learn how to comfort one another, we had to learn to communicate.
“And now, so much beauty has blossomed out of our union.”