Age is Nothing but a Number?? ...

A show which many of my UK followers will be familiar with is the infamous, "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding". A reality TV show dedicated to the lives of the gypsy community here in England. I was watching "This Morning", this morning (hehe) and found they were covering a story based on the couple Josie and Swanley who made their vows to each other on  one of the very first shows in July 2010.

At the age of 16, the average girl would not be thinking about boys, let alone thinking about marrying them. Josie, however, decided that this would be the right decision for her, and we saw her wedding unfold on the channel 4 programme.

This wedding was particularly memorable to me, as it was the first occasion my eyes had ever been opened to the likes of the gypsy community. Shockingly, and hats off to the girl, she wore an enormous 5stone wedding dress. Following the divorce she has expressed her wishes to burn the dress she was married in.

Rumor has it that the marriage split was due to a number of blazing arguments surrounding many issues. One in particular was Josie feeling like a "slave" and the final straw was Swanley spending their savings on a Rolex watch and Xbox games.

It is a known fact that "divorce" in the Gypsy community is one that is discouraged and frowned upon. However, Josie has stood by her word and is currently living with her Mother and her eight month of old child away from her former husband.

Personally, I find it quite frightening that a young girl has not only had thoughts of getting married, but has been given permission to marry. To me, it is not surprising that the couple have unfortunately ended their marriage. They met on a social networking site, and married soon after. Marriage is something that is valued highly in my family and something that we all believe in. However, in order to marry, I feel you must be a long-term stable relationship before even considering it. Not only does a wedding cost a bomb (if you do it big), it also touches upon some very legal documents. A girl of 16, although perhaps accompanied by her parents/guardians would not know how to handle this. Its as if they have been thrown in the deep end.

I wanted to write about this issue to open up the table on this topic. I am interested to see what is thought on the topic of marriage, especially in regards of age and divorce.

If your not old enough to vote, your not old enough to marry. But age is nothing but a number right?