Hailey Baldwin Explained Why She Got Married "Insanely Young" At 21
The choice to get married is incredibly personal; what's right for you probably isn't right for your best friend. For a lot of people, life at 21 revolves around grinding through college classes or exploring the best (and let's be real, worst) of the local bar scene. But Hailey Baldwin got married at 21, and her quotes about her decision just make sense. Mrs. Bieber opened up about being a young bride in her April 2021 Elle cover story.
“I mean, I was married when I was 21, two months before I turned 22, which is insanely young. And sounds almost ridiculous when you say it out loud," she said, reflecting on tying the knot at a New York City courthouse in September 2018. Twelve months later, the couple held a more formal wedding ceremony and reception in South Carolina. "Although I do think for somebody like me and somebody like Justin, [it’s different]. We’ve seen a lot for our age. We have both lived enough life to know that’s what we wanted.”
Getting married on the younger side is a Baldwin family tradition: Hailey's own parents, Stephen and Kennya Baldwin, met on a New York City bus when they were 19. They walked down the aisle four years later. “I know sometimes they drive each other crazy, but they love each other,” Hailey said. “When I was young and I would hear the story of how they met, it sounded like the most romantic thing in the world. You fantasize about having the same thing. I do think it influenced me to want to be married young.” Her sister, Alaia Baldwin Aronow, wed producer Andrew Aronow at 24.
Family tradition wasn't the only factor that influenced her decision. According to the model, she and Justin bonded early on over their similar values and goals. “We were friends first for a really long time before there was anything romantic," she said. (They first met at ages 12 and 14 — and amazingly enough, the moment was caught on video.) "But we always knew that we were aligned on what we wanted in our future. We had talked about wanting to be married young and having a family young and building a life. Even before we knew we wanted to be with each other.”
Hailey told Elle she's very aware that most celebrity relationships fail, but she's still optimistic for their future. She says they work with a therapist and that their faith keeps their marriage strong. "It really doesn't ever feel like work, because I love him so much. I see forever with him," she said.
For the record, Justin seems equally as smitten. In February, on a truly random Wednesday (it wasn't her birthday or Valentine's Day), he Instagrammed three snaps of his wife and captioned the post, "Are we kidding. I can’t believe that you are mine. You are such a fun, compassionate, sweet, beautiful, confident, strong woman. I would not be who i am today without you."
His next album, Justice, will drop on March 19. Here's to hoping there are plenty of romantic, Hailey-inspired tracks that give even more insight into this cute AF relationship.
