Celebs Who Got Married When They Were Teens

Young love is sweet and precious, and it's endearing to see between two celebrities. "Game of Thrones" star Sophie Turner, however, was only 23 when she married Joe Jonas in May 2019. In 2012, country star Thomas Rhett exchanged vows with high school sweetheart Lauren Akins when he was 22. And Hailey Bieber? Why, she was 22 when she said "I do" to Justin Bieber in September 2018. 

To some, getting married in your early 20s may seem, well, early; statistics show the average age for women getting married is 28, while for men, it's 30. When public figures decide to take it to the next level and tie the knot after they've just begun their second decade, it may raise eyebrows. As Rhett shared on "Today with Hoda & Jenna," "I think getting married so young in this kind of industry — I think there were people that were supportive, but there was a lot of people that were like, 'Why don't you just kind of date, and wait?' And I was like, when you know, you know."

With that, there are some stars who probably wished they waited until they were in their early 20s before they got married. Yes, there are a number of stars who got hitched when they were still in their teens — and more often than not, it did not lead to the fairy tale ending they presumably hoped for.

Drew Barrymore was known as a wild child in the '90s. She shot to stardom thanks to "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," but her success as a young star became overshadowed by her hard-partying lifestyle and addictions. Barrymore told People she had her first alcoholic drink at age 9; by 12, she started using cocaine. When the actor was 13, she entered rehab twice. However, most people might not remember that she also got married in her teens.

Barrymore was 19 when she married 31-year-old bar owner Jeremy Thomas in March 1994. Thomas told Radar in 2018 that Barrymore would frequent his Hollywood bar, The Room, and the two formed a relationship. "She was probably a little bit underage when she first started coming to the bar," he shared. "But she fit in with everyone." After friends casually suggested they get married, they managed to find a minister that very night... er that morning. Around 5 a.m., the pair had an impromptu ceremony on the bar's roof. In a 1994 interview with Jay Leno, Barrymore gushed over her marriage, telling the host, "We sort of dove right into it." But, ultimately, the star regretted her decision. "I realized my mistake on the day I married him," she reportedly said, per Radar Online.

Barrymore filed for divorce about two months after they got hitched; the dissolution of their marriage was made final in 1995.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Macaulay Culkin and Rachel Miner were just 17 when they tied the knot in 1998. According to CBS News, the pair met at the Professional Children's School in New York City, having both become child stars: Culkin shot to fame after his role in "Home Alone," while Riner starred in "The Diary of Anne Frank" on Broadway. Per Playbill, the couple said in a statement, "We're so happy and proud that we found each other at such a young age. We look forward to spending our lives together." The two, who had to receive their parents' approval to marry, wed on June 21, 1998.

Sadly, the pair announced they were going their separate ways after two years of marriage. In 2000, Culkin's spokesperson told the New York Post, "It is very amicable and they remain best of friends." 

Two years after their divorce, Culkin was linked to actor Mila Kunis. The pair dated for nine years until they called it quits in 2011. In 2017, Culkin struck up a romance with Disney star Brenda Song. The couple welcomed a son named Dakota in April 2021. 

In March 2004, Solange Knowles was 17 when she married her high school sweetheart, football player Daniel Smith. Smith was also just a teenager when the two wed in a small ceremony in the Bahamas with big sister Beyoncé and Jay-Z in attendance, per People. That October, Knowles welcomed her son, Daniel Julez J. Smith.

In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Knowles shared that the family moved to Moscow, Idaho, where Smith attended college after she had given birth to her son. However, she revealed that living there wasn't quite what she expected. "I was completely lost when we moved to Idaho, out in the country, and I devoted everything to him," she admitted. In 2006, Knowles filed for divorce and shared with Essence that she had no regrets over their short-term marriage. "I've embraced everything because I know that only God can give life, no one else. I'm happy that I have a beautiful, wonderful, amazing child who's made me a better person," she said.

The pair remained on good terms after their divorce, with People reporting in 2009 that they were co-parenting their son after having equal custody. "I feel good that [Daniel and I are] able to do it together because there are some things that I don't understand, and as much as I try to get out there and throw a football, I always get hit in the head with it."

In 1976, actor Bo Derek made headlines when she married actor and director John Derek. According to Interview, Bo was 16 when she initially met John on the set of his film "Fantasies," whereas he was 46 and still married to his third wife, Linda Evans. They began dating before his divorce was final. As the "10" star recalled to Oprah, "We lived together since I was 17. But we had to live in Europe for a few years, because I was underage." Bo and John's relationship lasted until John died in 1998.

Speaking with Interview in 2016, Bo revealed that she felt guilt over the way things played out between John and Evans. "It was very complicated and dramatic, obviously. Some people could say it was meant to be, though, because I was with him until he died. But that just sounds like an excuse to me. It's still the wrong thing to do," she said.

After his death, Bo went on to date "Sex and the City" star John Corbett in 2002. After nearly 20 years together, Corbett revealed on "The Talk" that the pair wed in December 2020. 

Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson share a long relationship history that started when Griffith was 14 and Don was 22. The actors met on the set of the 1972 film "The Harrad Experiment." Griffith later told The Hollywood Reporter, "I thought he was the most beautiful person I'd ever seen." The co-stars eventually wed when Griffith was 18, but their union only lasted six months, with drug and alcohol misuse playing a role in their divorce.

However, the former couple gave love a second chance. They remarried in 1989 and welcomed daughter Dakota Johnson, who would eventually follow in her parents' footsteps and pursue an acting career, too. According to People, the couple separated for a second time in 1994, with Don entering rehab for alcohol and prescription drug use. Griffith also admitted that she had trouble keeping up with her sobriety. The former couple's divorce was finalized in 1996. 

Despite Griffith and Don not being able to work on their marriage, they have maintained a loving relationship. In 2017, Don told the Daily Mail about their special bond, "Some people are just meant to be together, and I think that was true for Melanie and me, so we got married twice. I don't believe that if you love someone, that love dies – it changes and becomes something else."

Demi Moore's last name isn't her maiden name. Rather, it's from her first marriage to musician Freddy Moore. Detailing her relationship with the musician in her memoir "Inside Out" (via Us Weekly) the actor revealed that she had an affair with Freddy. "I was a self-absorbed teenager who hadn't been raised with a lot of respect for the institution of marriage. And I jumped into life with Freddy without, I'm sorry to say, much concern for his wife," Moore admitted. In 2018, Freddy came clean about leaving his wife for Demi. "I fell in love with her and as soon as she had me hooked, she dumped Tom and insisted I divorce my wife. I was so infatuated, I did it," he told Australia's NW Magazine (via PopSugar).

The pair wed in 1980 when Demi was 18 years old. However, their marriage ended in 1985. The "Ghost" actor would later admit in her memoir that she had cheated on her soon-to-be-husband the night before their wedding. "Why did I do that? Why didn't I go see the man I was committing to spend the rest of my life with to express my doubts?" Demi wrote (via People). "Because I felt there was no room to question what I'd already put in motion. I couldn't get out of the marriage, but I could sabotage it."

At 13, LeAnn Rimes was already a country music star after she released the song "Blue." The following year, she made her pop debut with "How Do I Live." The song would be one of Rimes' biggest hits and spent a whopping 69 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. As her music career soared, she also found time for love, and at 19, married dancer Dean Sheremet in 2002.

The couple announced that they were separating in 2009. Rumors spread that Rimes was having an affair with actor Eddie Cibrian, who she had met on the set of their film "Northern Lights." The affair rumors proved to be true. Rimes' marriage to Sheremet was over, and Cibrian's eight-year marriage to "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Brandi Glanville was also done. Rimes and Sheremet's divorce was finalized in June 2010. That same year, Rimes took the blame for the affair. "I did one of the most selfish things I possibly could do, in hurting someone else. I take responsibility for everything I've done. I hate that people got hurt, but I don't regret the outcome," she told People. 

Despite all the drama, Rimes and Cibrian tied the knot; in 2021, they celebrated a decade of marriage.

Taylor Hanson is one-third of the '90s pop band Hanson, along with his brothers Issac and Zac Hanson. The band found success with their 1997 song "MMMBop" and continues to perform and release music, with their latest album, "RGB (Red Green Blue)," released in 2022. 

Taylor became the first member of the group to get married when he wed Natalie Bryant in June 2002. The singer was 19 when he married 18-year-old Bryant in a small ceremony in Georgia, per The Oklahoman. That October, the couple became first-time parents when Bryant welcomed a son named Jordan Ezra. Taylor and Bryant have since welcomed seven children, their latest arrival being a girl they named Maybellene in December 2020. 

In an interview on the "White Wine Question Time" podcast, the Hanson brothers revealed that they met their wives at their shows. The oldest brother, Issac, recalled being drawn to his now-wife Nikki Dufresne throughout one of their performances, even throwing his guitar pick at her to get her attention. What's more, Zac revealed that he and Taylor both met the women they'd eventually marry at the same concert. 

Actor Olivia Wilde was 18 when she eloped with Italian prince Tao Ruspoli in 2003, saying "I do" inside of a school bus in Virginia, per Us Weekly. However, after eight years of marriage, the couple split in 2011. That same year, Wilde told Marie Claire that though she had spent much of her 20s being a married woman, she did not regret deciding to get married at such a young age. "Our deal from the beginning was, 'We're crazy to do this, but we're doing it because we're in love and it makes us happy,'" she shared.

In 2013, Wilde told Marie Claire that the end of her first marriage was heartbreaking but ultimately led her to actor Jason Sudeikis. The pair announced their engagement in January 2013 and welcomed two children, a son named Otis in 2014 and a daughter named Daisy in 2016. However, the couple never made it down the aisle. Wilde and Sudeikis called off their engagement in early 2020. 

Wilde would go on to date her "Don't Worry Darling" co-star Harry Styles, but the relationship fizzled out in November 2022.

Kim Kardashian finalized her divorce from rapper Kanye West in November 2022, which made it the reality star's third divorce. The "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star was previously married to NBA player Kris Humphries for 72 days, ending up in a messy divorce which was settled in April 2013. Her first marriage to music producer Damon Thomas, in which the couple eloped in Las Vegas in 2000, occurred when the SKIMS founder was just 19. The marriage lasted three years before they called it quits. 

In 2010, new details emerged about Kardashian's reasons for splitting from Thomas. Per the Daily Mail, in the 2003 divorce papers, Kardashian accused Thomas of being emotionally and physically abusive; he has denied the allegations. In a 2014 interview with InTouch, Thomas dragged the reality star's name through the muck, writing her off as someone just out looking for fame. "She can't write or sing or dance, so she does harmful things in order to validate herself in the media," he shared.

Per People, Kardashian admitted on an episode of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" that she was on drugs when she and Thomas got hitched. "I got married on ecstasy. The first time," she said.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

Actor Milla Jovovich was 16 years old when she eloped with her "Dazed and Confused" co-star Shawn Andrews. But it did not last long. At the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, "Dazed" director Richard Linklater shed some light on the short-lived union. According to Mashable, he told the audience, "Shawn and Mila got married for a month. I think Mila's mother annulled it because her daughter was like 16." In 2011, Jovovich explained to the Daily Mail that she only wanted to get married to prove to her mother that she was already old enough to make her own decisions. She told the outlet, "I was a big girl as far as I was concerned and I wanted to establish myself as an adult, as I was working like one and being treated like one by everyone else. It wasn't about being in love, but when you're 16, you have to take three rights to make a left." 

Evidently, Andrews didn't really connect with any of the other members of the ensemble cast. As Jason London told Maxim, "Shawn just didn't want to interact with really anyone except Milla Jovovich."

Since 2009, Jovovich has been married to filmmaker Paul W. S. Anderson. He directed the actor in the "Resident Evil" film series. 

At 18, Janet Jackson married her childhood friend James DeBarge to break from her controlling father, Joe Jackson. In her 2022 documentary "Janet Jackson" (via New York Post), the singer eloped with DeBarge in Michigan in 1984, with only her sister, LaToya Jackson, informed about their wedding. "I wanted to be able to stand on my own feet," Janet said. "And at that time I thought that there was no other way I would be able to kind of get my own life – unless I got married."

However, Janet faced many more obstacles while married to DeBarge, including trying to navigate his drug use. The songstress remembered being left alone on the night of their wedding and having to constantly look for him in the early hours of the morning throughout their marriage. She even fought with him when she tried to confiscate his drugs. As a result, her marriage was ultimately annulled a year later. "I cared so much for him, and I saw the good in him as well and I just wanted to take precedence as opposed to this ugliness," Janet said. "But I wasn't the help that he needed."

Taran Noah Smith is best known for his role as Tim "The Toolman" Taylor's youngest son in the '90s sitcom "Home Improvement." When the show wrapped up, Smith was 16, and he quit acting altogether. He told Entertainment Weekly, "It was pretty exciting to leave it behind and do other things." In the meantime, Smith's other gigs included building energy-efficient water purifiers and starting up a vegan food company with his then-wife, Heidi Van Pelt. 

At 17, Smith made headlines when he married Van Pelt, a woman 16 years his senior, in 2001. He defended their age gap when he told The Pitch, "Yeah, people would say that's weird, but my whole life has been pretty weird, so I'm kind of used to it." According to the Marin Independent Journal, Smith used the fact that he was married to try and prove to a judge that he should be given access to his $1.5 million trust fund a year early. He even involved his parents when he accused them of living off of his earnings from the show. 

Smith and Van Pelt divorced in 2007, and he managed to repair his relationship with his parents.

Before Norma Jeane Baker would become Marilyn Monroe, she had to make a monumental decision at 16. According to the biography "Marilyn Monroe" by Barbara Leaming (via The New York Times), Monroe, who lived in foster homes and orphanages, had the choice to marry her neighbor Jim Dougherty or return to an orphanage. Monroe wed a then-21-year-old Dougherty on June 19, 1942.

In Donald Spoto's biography of Marilyn Monroe, the author quoted the star as once stating, "My marriage didn't make me sad, but it didn't make me happy, either. My husband and I hardly spoke to each other. This wasn't because we were angry. We had nothing to say. I was dying of boredom." After the two wed, Dougherty joined the Marines and was stationed overseas. During that period, Monroe was contemplating a whole new career as a model. In 1946, she divorced Dougherty, signed with 20th Century Studios, and changed her name to Marilyn Monroe. After her career took off, she went on to marry (and divorce) Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller.