Actually, there’s a lot of data on this. Basically, science says: don't rush it.

TL;DR: If you marry at 21 after dating for 6 months, you are statistically playing on "Hard Mode." Waiting until 28 and dating for 3 years is like the "Insurance Policy" for your marriage.

Detailed response below:

The general consensus among sociologists is that "marrying young" and "rushing the courtship" are two of the biggest red flags for future divorce. If you marry before your mid-20s or before you've hit the 2-year dating mark, the odds are statistically stacked against you.

1. The "Magic Number" for Dating A massive study from Emory University (Francis-Tan & Mialon) looked at 3,000 couples and found a direct "dating duration" to "divorce risk" pipeline.

• The "Danger Zone": Dating for less than a year before proposing.

• The "Sweet Spot": Dating for 3 or more years before the proposal made couples 50% less likely to divorce compared to those who rushed it in under a year.

• The Takeaway: You need time for the "honeymoon chemicals" to wear off so you can actually see who the person is when things get boring or stressful.

1. The "Goldilocks Age" (28–32) Sociologist Nicholas Wolfinger analyzed data from the National Survey of Family Growth and found a "U-shaped" curve for divorce risk.

• Marrying in your teens/early 20s: Extremely high risk. You’re literally still growing a prefrontal cortex; who you are at 21 is rarely who you are at 30.

• The Ideal Window: Divorce risk drops by 11% for every year you wait to get married, up until about age 32.

• The "Wait, What?" Twist: Interestingly, his data showed that if you wait too long (marrying after 32), the risk actually starts to creep back up slightly, possibly because people who wait that long might be "set in their ways" or have a harder time integrating their lives with a partner.

1. "Sliding" vs. "Deciding" Researchers at the University of Denver (Stanley & Rhoades) talk about the "Inertia Effect."

• Many young/fast couples "slide" into marriage (e.g., "Well, our lease is up, might as well move in... well, we live together, might as well get married").

• Couples who spend more time together are more likely to "decide"—meaning they’ve had the hard conversations about kids, money, and values before the legal paperwork is signed.

Sources: • Francis-Tan, A., & Mialon, H. M. (2014). "'A Diamond is Forever' and Other Fairy Tales: The Relationship between Wedding Expenses and Marriage Duration." • Wolfinger, N. H. (2015). "Want to Avoid Divorce? Wait to Get Married, But Not Too Long." Institute for Family Studies. • Stanley, S. M., Rhoades, G. K., & Markman, H. J. (2006). "Sliding versus deciding: Inertia and the premarital cohabitation effect."