The legal implication of age when getting married
Venezuela Fury, aged 16, has been all over the news following her recent marriage to Noah Price, aged 19. However, the question on everyone’s lips is ‘how has Venezuela got married at the young age of 16?’
It is important to note that Venezuela had her marriage ceremony take place in the Isle of Man. Under Manx law, the law states that 16 and 17 year olds can marry if formal consent is provided from their parents.
However, Venezuela has spent the majority of her life living in England where the legal age to get married has been 18 since the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 came into force in 2023. It is therefore illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to get married within England and Wales and there are strict penalties in place for anyone arranging or facilitating a marriage for someone under the age of 18.
The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 also extends to provide overseas protection as any marriage involving a person under the age of 18, such as Venezuela, is not legally recognized in England and Wales if either party usually lives there.
Therefore, a question mark arises on whether Venezuela ‘usually lives’ in the Isle of Man as she only recently relocated to the Isle of Man on 1 December 2025, just shortly after her engagement was announced at her 16th birthday party in September 2025. Six months after the move, Venezuela was married.
Following her marriage to Noah, Venezuela will be moving back to England to live in Yorkshire with her new husband. Therefore, the question to determine is whether living on the Isle of Man for just the very short period of six months can constitute as somewhere where Venezuela usually lives. If this was just temporary, as it appears on the facts, then this might result in Venezuela’s marriage being illegal and her parents, Paris and Tyson Fury could be prosecuted for arranging an underage marriage.
Any person who attempts to conduct a marriage where someone is under 18 will commit an offence under section 121 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. This includes actions such as booking a venue for the purpose of a marriage. If convicted, this crime can result in imprisonment for up to seven years.
There was a call for the law to change in 2023 in order to provide better protection for children aged 16 and 17 years old who may be forced into child marriage against their will by parents or guardians. Whilst there is no suggestion that Venezuela has been forced into a marriage against her will, it must be recognised that she is just a child at the age of 16 years old and there is a reason that the law in England and Wales has evolved the way it has.
There is also a potential safeguarding concern that Venezuela was allegedly just 15 when she started dating Noah who would have been aged 18 for a period of time when Venezuela was underage.
Aside from the safeguarding concerns and potential criminality of the marriage, it also poses several legal concerns. Firstly, in order to get divorced, individuals need to be over the age of 18 and can only apply a year after the wedding. Therefore, if the relationship broke down, and the parties wished to divorce, Venezuela would still be 17 years old and unable to get divorced.
Secondly, parties must be over the age of 18 to enter into a nuptial agreement. It is assumed that Venezuela is wealthy in her own right given that she is part of the Fury family. However, she is unable to sufficiently protect herself by virtue of entering into a nuptial agreement.
Marriage is not something to be taken lightly and the implications of entering into a marriage can be far reaching and long-lasting. If you are entering into a marriage and wish to obtain advice generally, or on jurisdiction and nuptial agreements, then please do get in touch with our Family team who would be delighted to assist.
