“The ideal age to get married, with the least likelihood of divorce in the first five years, is 28 to 32,” says Carrie Krawiec, a marriage and family therapist at Birmingham Maple Clinic in Troy, Michigan. “Called the 'Goldilocks theory,' the idea is that people at this age are not too old and not too young.”
There is no best age to get married that applies to everyone. You're never too old for it, and while it's very possible to get married before you're ready, it's often not necessarily because you're too young to marry.
Dr. Fisher believes that marriages that take place when the couple is in their late 20s to mid 30s are most successful. "By the time we are getting to the late 20s we have a clear sense of who we are and what we want out of life," he explains.
There has been a never-ending debate about the right age to get married. While some feel 20s is the ideal time to tie the knot, for many 30s is the phase of life when you are more stable and mature to take the plunge. In reality, there are pros and cons to getting hitched at any age.
Dr. Thomas says those who decide to wed in their 30s benefit from emotional maturity. “The partners may have lived more life, had more experiences, and emotionally grown through what they have gone through and been exposed to,” she continues.
Being single in your 30s doesn't mean you weren't with someone you thought you'd spend the rest of your life with. It also doesn't mean you'll stay single for the rest of your life too. But for now, as long as it takes to find the right one, you're single and life is easy.
It Varies From Person to Person
The point is, just because getting married in your 30s may quickly be becoming the new normal, that doesn't mean you should feel awkward or out of place if that doesn't reflect your life at all. You may get married in your 20s, 40s, 50s, or never.
Couples in their 30s who have dated for at least 2 years are said to have an almost 80% success rate in marriage.
“The ideal age to get married, with the least likelihood of divorce in the first five years, is 28 to 32,” says Carrie Krawiec, a marriage and family therapist at Birmingham Maple Clinic in Troy, Michigan. “Called the 'Goldilocks theory,' the idea is that people at this age are not too old and not too young.”
In the U.S. in 2019, among adults between the ages of 25 and 29, fewer than 1 in 3 were married. That jumps to just over half for adults between 30 and 34, then to just over 60% for people between 35 and 39. The marriage rate peaks at nearly two-thirds after that.
From the mid-1970s until 2018 there was a steady and ongoing increase in the median age of men and women at first marriage. This upward trend halted between 2018 and 2020 but continued again in 2021. In 2021 the median age of men was 30.8 years, and women 29.4 years.
Most couples date for two or more years before getting engaged, with many dating anywhere from two to five years. Once the question is popped, the average length of engagement is between 12 and 18 months.
Romantic couples with a large age gap often raise eyebrows. Studies have found partners with more than a ten-year gap in age experience social disapproval. But when it comes to our own relationships, both men and women prefer someone their own age, but are open to someone 10-15 years their junior or senior.
No, dating does not get harder as you grow up. Dating can be continued or started at any age because a person should not take you by just your age, height or weight. They should date you by looking at your inner beauty. Age is just a number, so don't worry about it.
In their 20s, people have sex an average of more than 80 times a year, or slightly more than once every five days. By the age of 45, people have sex an average of 60 times per year, or just over once a week.
The bigger the pool of options, the closer to exactly 37% you can get. Research about successful marriages seems to support the age sweet spot of 26. In July 2015, the University of Utah sociologist Nicholas H. Wolfinger discovered that the best ages to get married in order to avoid divorce are between 28 and 32.
“Being 28 and single is not a bad thing. Society, friends, culture, all ask the question, “When are you going to get married?” Don't rush to make a lifelong commitment that will change your life forever.
The age varies from man to man, but there are patterns that are easily identified: Most men who graduate from high school start thinking of marriage as a real possibility when they are 23 or 24. Most men who graduate from college don't start considering marriage as a real possibility until age 26.
And according to the National Survey of Family Growth, getting married between 28 and 32 is the lowest risk for divorce. The age of 18 might be considered “adult,” but it may not be the perfect age to get married.
Some aspects of dating in your 30s make the process harder—such as a shrinking candidate pool. You can no longer meet potential partners at school and probably aren't attending parties and social gatherings as often. These are hot spots for fresh encounters.
It's difficult to hear the statistic that 90% of relationships started before the age of 30 do in fact end. It's a gut-wrenching fact that can makes people turn to their partners and think hard about their relationships the probability of becoming that very statistic.
You're Just Starting The Happiest Years of Your Life
Research shows that for most people, real happiness begins around age 33. If you're 30 and single, that means you can do anything you want—including finding someone to share it with, or not.
The fact is, women don't have expiration dates. It's never too late to find love, get married and ultimately have the wedding you've been dreaming about since you were a little girl (even if it's at a slight delay).
An early marriage gives you much more chance to not only work on the relationship but also walk out of it and start afresh in case it fails. It may not be the most pleasant thing to hear but all said and done, there is nothing in the world that can ensure the success of a marriage.
Unconditional Love
Back to that thing called love. It's the primary reason why men get married. In fact, in a survey conducted by Pew Research, 93 percent of married people (both men and women) said love was the reason why they got married, and 84 percent of unmarried people want to marry because of love.