Courtney Stodden vowed to continue advocating until children are protected from marriage in all 50 states.
Stodden married actor Doug Hutchison, known for roles in The Green Mile, A Time to Kill, and I Am Sam, in 2011. The union drew international scrutiny and led to appearances on U.S. reality programs such as VH1’s Couples Therapy.
Other survivors of child marriage also welcomed the legislation.
“California has sent a clear message to the world today,” Brittany Bee, a former child bride, told the BBC. “It is a message of hope for all children—that they may be free from systemic violence and free to choose their own path.”
Bee told the BBC she married at 17 to escape an abusive home, only to allegedly face abuse from her adult husband.
“I was just going from one prison to another,” she explained. “People have the audacity to say I made a choice—children cannot consent.”
Bee and other survivors have campaigned for years to outlaw child marriage in California and nationwide.
Roughly a decade ago, the practice was legal in every U.S. state, but momentum has shifted. Since 2018, California has become the 18th state to enact a ban.
Previously, California set no minimum age for marriage, permitting minors to wed with parental consent and judicial approval.
Minors also lacked the legal capacity to file for divorce, leaving many girls trapped in abusive and predatory relationships.
The advocacy group Unchained At Last estimates that roughly 9,000 girls were married annually in California, with nearly all child marriages involving girls wed to adult men.
Advocates note that many Americans remain unaware that child marriage remains legal in the majority of states and that it has been linked to widespread allegations of abuse.
Sara Tasneem, who says she was forced to marry a man nearly twice her age at 15, told the BBC the moment felt “surreal.” She has lobbied for the ban since 2017.
She met her husband on the morning of their arranged marriage.
“I was forced to be his wife, and that day my entire life changed,” she told the BBC. She gave birth at 16 and left school the following year.
“Watching this bill come to fruition has been a marathon,” Tasneem said. “I’m just grateful that children can no longer be married in California after January 1, 2027.”
