Bindi Irwin bucks modern trend for later marriage with engagement at 21

While it was once the norm to marry in your early twenties or even late teens, tradition has slowly changed in recent years and a new trend has seen more and more couples waiting until their thirties or later to tie the knot.

But for some, the old ways are the best, and Bindi Irwin bucked the modern trend on Wednesday by announcing her engagement to long-term boyfriend Chandler Powell at the age of 21.

The daughter of Steve and Terri Irwin shared the exciting news on social media, revealing her boyfriend of six years had gotten down on one knee as she marked her birthday among family and friends at Australia Zoo.

Following the proposal, Bindi shared several photographs from the “whirlwind” day on Instagram, showing off her stunning diamond ring.

Read more: She’s engaged! Bindi Irwin reveals boyfriend Chandler proposed on 21st birthday

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0UczwZhyAc/

Read more: Changing face of marriage sees many ditch commitment for fun

But it’s certainly defied modern tradition. While a few decades ago getting married in your early 20s was the norm, now young adults are waiting longer than ever before to tie the knot.

In fact, stats from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show the average age of marriage is the highest it’s ever been. In 2017, the norm for men tying the knot was 32, an increase from 31.9 years of age in 2016. Meanwhile, the average age of marriage for women was 30.1 years in 2017, an increase of 0.2 years since the year before.

Meanwhile, the number of Australians tying the knot has also decreased. To put it in perspective, in 1970 the crude marriage rate in Australia was 9.3 marriages per 1,000 residents. In 2017, the crude marriage rate in Australia dropped to 4.6 marriages per 1,000 residents.

Read more: ‘We were rebelling!’ John Paul Young on why he waited 27 years to marry wife

A US study by researchers at the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green University found last year that divorces were at a 40-year low – with the study claiming one reason may be that couples are now increasingly delaying marriage.

While it found that US divorces hit a historical high point in 1979, when 22.6 marriages out of every 1,000 broke up, the rate had dropped to 16.1 divorces for every 1,000 marriages in 2017.

“There’s a fear of divorce or a specter (sic) of divorce looming large in people’s minds,” Wendy D. Manning, co-director of Bowling Green’s Center for Family and Marriage Research, said, according to the Wall Street Journal. “They don’t want to make a mistake. They’re waiting longer to get married to divorce-proof their marriage.”

While marriage is still a meaningful way to express love between a couple, the argument that marriage is redundant in the modern age has seeped into the minds of singles and couples in recent years and sparked impassioned cries of “archaic!” and “useless!” from critics on all corners of the web.

Writer Kris Gage penned a near-2000 word article for Business Insider last year claiming marriage doesn’t make sense anymore given it’s original reason for existence, to provide a home for the woman and an heir for the man, is now defunct.

What are your thoughts on this? How old were you when you got married? Do you think young adults get married too late nowadays?