What do Jon Bon Jovi, U2’s Bono, and U.S. politician Sarah Palin have in common? The question might seem mind boggling, but the answer is actually pretty simple: they all married their high school sweethearts!
Would you ever have considered marrying your first high school love? While many brave teens may have popped the question before graduation, the new trend these days seems to be adults reconnecting with their high school exes over social media and tying the knot! No matter what category you fall under, we have some fabulous statistics for you about marrying your high school sweetheart.
For better or worse, we’re looking at celebrities who married their high school sweethearts, along with statistics, pros and cons, and all that good stuff you’ll need to know when considering turning your high school flame into your lifetime partner.
The lowdown on marrying your high school crush
Before we get into those sumptuous pros and cons, here are 5 quick facts about marriage, divorce, celebrities, and young love.
#1 A 2011 Pew Research Center study states that the age of the average U.S. bride and groom these days is 26 for women and 29 for men.
#2 A study in the Boston Herald regarding cohabitation before marriage concluded that only a mere 21% of unmarried couples would continue living together after a 5- to 7-year period.
#3 A U.S. Census Bureau study, along with many others, suggests that you reduce the risk of divorce by 24% by waiting until you are at least 25 years old before getting married.
#4 According to the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, 60% of young women *including high school girls* have been in an abusive relationship. Sound like someone you want to spend the rest of your life with?
#5 Celebrities are no strangers to marrying their high school lovers. Here are some celebs who’ve popped the question:
– LeBron James married and fathered the children of his high school sweetie, Savannah Brinson.
– Bono and Ali Hewson started their passionate journey at 15 and followed it all the way into marriage!
– Ron Howard married his wife of 30+ years after meeting her in his high school English class.
– Julia Louis-Dreyfus of Seinfeld married her high school sweetheart in 1987.
– Jeff Daniels married his high school lover.
– Yeah, N’Sync! Joey Fatone married his high school girlfriend after a whopping 12 years of dating!
– Ja Rule *remember him?* married his high school crush, Aisha Murray.
The pros and cons of marrying your high school sweetheart
When it comes to marrying your high school sweetheart, you’ve probably heard strong opinions on both sides of the fence. On one hand, how sweet it is to still be with the first person you’ve ever fell in love with! On the other hand, how would you feel about only having slept with one person… ever? We’re looking at the pros and cons of marrying your high school sweetie!
Pros
#1 Your s*x life rocks. Since you are likely each other’s first *or one of your first* s*xual experiences, you’ve pretty much based your entire s*xual repertoire off of what you and your partner get off to. If you are each other’s first partners, it’s especially fabulous because you’ve gotten to learn everything about what exactly makes them squirm with pleasure.
#2 Your first love is the deepest. When asked why he enjoys writing teen fiction books, author John Green said that you never feel or love as fiercely as you do when you are in your teenage years. We couldn’t agree more! So why not keep that young love going into old age with that special someone?
#3 You know each other inside and out. What could possibly be better than marrying your absolute best friend? You’ve grown up together, you’ve matured together, and you’ve probably been through most of the milestones of life together, like getting your driver’s licenses, turning the legal age, and going to college.
#4 You learn forgiveness. Let’s face it, we make pretty stupid mistakes when we’re young, and we learn to forgive a lot because of it. Growing up together not only allows you to mature and evolve as a unit, but it also gives you a greater sense of forgiveness.
#5 You can be yourself. He saw you when you didn’t own a flat iron and didn’t fill in your brows, and you’ve seen him with braces, no job, and a wallet chain. How can things get any worse? We kid, we kid! When you’ve been with someone since your youth, you get a greater sense of confidence not only in who you are personally, but who you’re able to be as a couple.
#6 Your anniversaries seem way more awesome. If you shacked up when you were 15 and you’re now 31, you’ve already been together for 16 years! Do you know what that means? You’ve officially been together longer than you’ve been apart, and you haven’t even hit anywhere close to your 50th birthday!
Cons
#1 Your s*x life, part two. All right, so we’ve heard the joys of your s*x life as married high school lovers, but here’s the downside in an easy threefold explanation
#2 You don’t always evolve together. Being together since your teens may lead to a long relationship, but that doesn’t always mean that you’re evolving together every step of the way. Yes, your personalities will mesh to a certain extent over the years, but eventually, you may end up growing apart. Who you are in 9th grade is most certainly *and thankfully* not who you are at age 27. Unfortunately, your partner may not always take this evolutionary step with you.
#3 Unanswered questions. No matter how blissfully happy you may feel with your partner, unnerving questions may start to creep in, such as: What would it be like to sleep with someone else? Am I still into this relationship? I wish I were with someone with bigger boobs/bigger penis/better body. Am I missing out on the college dating experiences my friends are having?
#4 Lack of mystery. With all marriages, there is an element of mystery that takes a nosedive at some point or another. The difference? Instead of meeting in your 20s or beyond, you met in your teens, meaning there are basically no stories to share with each other, because you are probably in them already!
#5 You feel forced to stay together. What seemed perfect in high school may not feel like the best passionate decision later in life. That being said, after you’ve already been together for 10 years, there may be a sense of guilt associated with leaving your life partner. You may even feel forced to stay in your relationship because of all that you’ve been through together.
