Reddit<\/a> denizens highlighted Mikayla Matthews\u2019 own social media posts about her relationship.<\/p>\nMikayla turned 24 earlier this year. Her husband, Jace, is nearly 30. That\u2019s not only \u201cno big deal,\u201d but no deal whatsoever \u2014 just a married couple in their twenties. A little young to be married and a lot young to have three kids, but otherwise normal, right?<\/p>\n
However, Redditors spied a huge red flag in their relationship, highlighting that Mikayla Matthews was 16 when her husband was 21. <\/p>\n
\u201cMe and my husband turning 22 and 27 this year after 3 amazing kids,\u201d Mikayla Matthews wrote about herself and husband Jace Terry in the resurfaced post. She turned 22 in early 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cUs at 16 and 21,\u201d Mikayla then wrote, showing old footage from, one assumes, 2016 or early 2017 when she was the age of a high school student and Jace was an adult of legal drinking age.<\/p>\n
The couple\u2019s current photos look normal and very cute. But many on social media found this revelation jarring. What kind of a grown man in his 20s, however early, starts up a relationship with a teen?<\/p>\n
Fans don\u2019t know what to make of Mikayla Matthews\u2019 husband or their age gap \u2026<\/h2>\n On Reddit, one commenter wrote: \u201cI think the age gap [right now] is fine but 16 and a 21 year old \u2026 she was a child.\u201d<\/p>\n
A reply to that comment reads: \u201cThis led me to Google to find out that the Romeo and Juliet law in Utah allows a 7 year age difference for minors and their \u2018partners.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Another denizen of Reddit shared their own painful perspective: \u201cThis age gap is not okay. I got married at 16 to a 21 year old. I spent the next 6 years being abused. You are not old enough to make those decisions at 16.\u201d<\/p>\nThe titular wives join hands in the promo for Hulu\u2019s The Secret Wives of Mormon Wives. (Image Credit: Hulu)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAge gaps have become a hot topic in recent years. While it\u2019s good that more people pay attention to them, especially as they intersect with topics like predation and sexism, it\u2019s clear that some people have lost the plot<\/em>.<\/p>\nIf you\u2019ve ever seen a post on social media warning high school or even college classmates to not date each other if they\u2019re in different grades, you\u2019ve seen this firsthand. Online commentary on celebrity marriages can feel similarly unhinged<\/em>.<\/p>\nYes, there are people \u2014 famous and otherwise \u2014 who pursue relationships that are (or should be) illegal. There are also just adults who are a few years apart but have a great relationship. What\u2019s Mikayla\u2019s situation?<\/p>\n
So, does the age gap matter?<\/h2>\n There is, to be blunt, no good reason for a 16-year-old to be with a 21-year-old. Something being legal <\/em>in Utah does not mean that it is ethical. \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d laws make sense so that high school classmates who are dating each other don\u2019t face arrest when one has a birthday \u2014 which is obviously not the case with that age gap.<\/p>\nThis is not the only The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives<\/em> couple<\/a> with a controversial age gap. However, there is some nuance to Mikayla\u2019s situation. Simply put, what she has shared from her backstory shows that age gaps were not her biggest concern.<\/p>\nShe moved out of her parents\u2019 home when she was 15 and began living with her sister. She met a guy and very quickly became pregnant. Which is to say that, according to Mikayla\u2019s own TikTok<\/a>, a number of things had clearly gone wrong in her young life before she met her husband.<\/p>\nA 5-year age gap between adults is generally pretty meaningless. Two people in their twenties are almost always social peers. The only concern here is over Mikayla\u2019s age when they got together. A 5-year gap is a lifetime<\/em> when you\u2019re 16.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s possible that Jace will win over The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives<\/em> viewers. He\u2019s handsome, he looks <\/em>age-appropriate for her (now), and he and Mikayla seem to have a good relationship.<\/p>\nSometimes, you wince at a relationship\u2019s backstory and go \u201cI guess?<\/em>\u201d at the current state of things. It\u2019s not a celebration, but an acceptance of a less than pristine love story. Mikayla Matthews and her husband could be one of those couples.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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