4 Great Reasons to Marry Earlier Rather Than Later

Suzanne Venker

Suzanne Venker, Coach

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Suzanne Venker is an author, columnist, and relationship coach, and is known as The Feminist “Fixer.” A wife of 20 years and mother of two, Suzanne liberates... Read more

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Updated: 29 May, 2023

Table of Contents

Marrying early offers flexibility, giving you time to grow together, build trust, and cultivate closeness through shared goals and honest conversations.
Early timing supports family plans, letting you align your dreams and deepen connection as you navigate parenthood together.
Choosing a partner without pressure helps you form a safer, more compassionate bond by prioritizing communication, respect, and feeling seen.

What is the best age for getting married?

If you’re at all a maverick, you might consider marrying earlier rather than later. By “earlier,” I mean somewhere around age 26. Any earlier than that and you run the risk of making a reckless decision. 60% of couples married between ages 20-25 end in divorce, while those who wait until they’re over age 25 are 24% less likely to get divorced.

I know you’ve been raised to put marriage and family on the backburner and not to give much thought to the reasons to marry earlier, but it’s not working out well for many women. If anything, it has backfired.

For one thing, spending years moving in and out of countless serious sexual relationships is painful and can be counterproductive to lasting love. Not only do women end up with a lot of emotional baggage, but it also isn’t easy to find a husband in one’s thirties.

Not only are the pickings slim, a woman’s attractiveness peaks in her 20s. The same is true for men, but their power and status rise over time—which makes them more, not less, attractive to women. Ergo, women have the greatest bargaining power in their twenties which is one of the greatest reasons to marry earlier. By the time they hit their thirties, they’ll have to compete with younger, more beautiful women. There are plenty of reasons why getting married early is actually a good decision.

4 tempting reasons why getting married early is a smart decision:

1. Nailing down an important decision of your life early on

Marrying young(ish) offers a lot of flexibility and plenty of time to focus on other things, whether it’s building a career and/or saving money.

I have a friend who married young and who waited nine years to have children! She and her husband enjoyed many years together unencumbered by the responsibilities of parenthood and saved a lot of money in the meantime.

This is one of the very important reasons to marry earlier. You would not have to pressured into having kids right away. You would have plenty fertile years ahead.

2. You have the option to have more than two children

It takes at least two years each to have and to recover from having a baby. So depending on how many children you want, you may need up to a ten-year period for this stage of life. At age 35, your fertility will decline precipitously. So the ages of 25-35 are an ideal time to get married and have all the babies you want. If you are contemplating having more than two kids, this is one of the reasons to marry earlier.

3. Marrying young(ish) allows you to be a young mother

This has several advantages, such as a higher energy level (which you will need!) and ample help from grandparents while they’re still active enough to help out. It’s also helpful as far having time in your life for both family and career, as there are many women who stay home with their children for x number of years and then later in life amp up their careers.

Marrying young(ish) allows you to be a young mother

4. You won’t have to “hurry up and find a man to marry”

This is probably one of the most significant reasons to marry earlier rather than later. The greatest problem with delaying marriage is that many women find themselves marrying whomever they happen to be dating (or even living with) at the time to ensure they’ll be able to have children.

This is not a reason to marry someone! Your ability to make a smart decision about whom to marry is undermined due a ticking clock—you’re just far less likely to choose well when you’re under the gun. Don’t let that happen to you!

If you were wondering ‘what are the effects of early marriage?’ you must have understood now that there are many upsides to marrying earlier rather than later. Of course, if you were to float this idea around, you’ll get a lot of pushback. Marrying later in life is the modern-day trend, and people don’t like to buck trends.

But just because something’s popular doesn’t mean it’s good. Don’t make that leap. Consider the reasons to marry earlier.

Dare to think differently.

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Suzanne Venker Coach

Suzanne Venker is an author, columnist, and relationship coach, and is known as The Feminist “Fixer.” A wife of 20 years and mother of two, Suzanne liberates women from the sexual equality narrative and inspires them to feel secure in their femininity and courageous about finding lasting... Read more love. Suzanne’s most recent book, The Alpha Female’s Guide to Men Read less

(Suzanne Venker is also listed in Best Marriage Therapists in Abingdon)