They even threatened to take their own lives if their families refused to accept their relationship.
They say that when you fall in love, you accept your partner’s everything—from good traits to the bad ones. Accepting your partner’s flaws is what every couple needs. However, this couple’s love for each other has caused people to talk as it was something that isn’t widely accepted around the world. There is a saying that goes, “age doesn’t matter”, and this couple took that saying to heart.
16-year-old Selamat Riayadi claims to have fallen in love with his 71-year-old bride, Rohaya.
Married in their home village of Karangendah in the western South Sumatra province of Indonesia, the couple said their love for each other was so strong they would commit suicide together if the wedding wasn’t given the go ahead because ‘they were so completely in love, if one of them dies then both must die’.
The official minimum age for boys to marry in Indonesia is 19 but a loophole allows for any marriage within a person’s ‘religious norms’, but it is not clear who gave it the thumbs up.
Many were sceptical about the marriage, but the couple assured everybody that they were genuinely in love. There were even rumors going around that whenever Selamat would leave the house, he would lock Rohaya in because he was scared that other men might take her.
The marriage is not believed to be motivated by financial concerns, as both newlyweds are equally poor. The couple also dreams of having a family and children of their own in the future—if still possible.
Selamat’s family made a dowry payment to hers of £11.50.
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