What Can We Learn From Sofia Richie’s Marriage? Insights and Legalities

This past weekend, Sofia Richie, 24-year-old model influencer and designer, who is also the youngest daughter of legendary singer Lionel Richie, married Elliot Grainge, a music executive, in a star-studded event in the South of France (Hey, this could be considered our version of a royal wedding LOL.) Sofia’s previous high-profile relationship was with Scott Disick when she was 19 and he was 34 years old.

So, what can we learn from this young love?

Insights on Marriage Age Requirements

We can talk about the minimum age to get married in the Sunshine State. In general, one must be at least 18 years old to get married in Florida. A marriage is a legal contract, and one must be at least “the age of majority” (18 in Florida) to get married. The first step in getting married is getting a marriage application to get a marriage license. The County may deny a marriage application and therefore prevent folks from getting married. A minor, someone under the age of 18, may get a marriage application when the requirements in Florida Statute 741.0405 are met. Specifically, minors ages 16 or 17 years old have the ability to get a marriage application if:

• Both minors are over 16 and there is a written consent to the marriage, signed and acknowledged by the applicant’s parents or guardian, is filed with the judge or clerk;
• Both minors are over 16 and both of the applicant’s parents are deceased at the time of the application;
• Both minors are over 16 and the applicant has been married in the past;
• At the discretion of the Judge, if both parties swear under oath that they are the parents of a child;
• At the discretion of the Judge, if the fact of pregnancy is verified by the written statement of a licensed physician;
• If both parties swear under oath that they that they are the expectant parents of a child; or
• To any female under the age of 18 years and male over the age of 18 years upon the female’s application sworn under oath that she is an expectant parent;

No license to marry shall be granted to any person under the age of 16 years, with or without the consent of the parents, except as provided in this list.

Most states (43 to be exact) follow Florida’s hybrid rules where minors may get married in specific circumstances. Only Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island have set the minimum age at 18 and eliminated ALL exceptions. There are currently 20 U.S. states that do not require ANY minimum age for marriage, with a parental or judicial waiver.

So, there you have it. We learn that as I get older, everyone feels younger to me and that there are age requirements to get a marriage application. We also learn that the marriage application is how the State controls how old people need to be to embark on their martial journey.