Celebrity2 min(s) read
Published 15:30 21 May 2026 GMT
To mark 15 years since she was controversially married to a man 35 years her senior at just 16, actress Courtney Stodden has announced she plans to undergo surgery to reclaim her own body.
The story of Stodden marrying 51-year-old actor Doug Hutchinson in 2011 while she was still in high school resurfaced last year when a biopic about the child bride’s life was released.
In the aftermath, a serious debate over child marriage in America was sparked.
Stodden has since recalled that she was a virgin and felt emotionally immature at times because she was too young to understand the unequal, exploitative dynamic, despite becoming the breadwinner immediately after the wedding.
After she was married, Stodden became a regular on reality television and released music. However, despite the corrupt nature of their relationship, she persistently made tabloid headlines.
Thankfully, the couple with a similar age gap to many fathers and daughters, separated in 2017 and divorced in 2020. Around the time, Stodden admitted she felt “absolutely taken advantage of”.
The self-described child bride survivor and media personality, now 31, reflected on how the public portrayed her as a scandalised woman rather than a victim of grooming in an Instagram post she shared on what would have been her 15th wedding anniversary.
In an emotional post, Stodden shared a picture of her first wedding with her husband’s face defaced with a long caption saying: “I was a virgin. Emotionally still a child.
“And too young to understand what was about to happen to me behind closed doors for years.
“Just because a child says 'I do' does not mean she understands consent.”
Stodden continued by outlining the procedure she plans to have to help reclaim her bodily autonomy.
She said: “Tomorrow I’m downsizing my breasts, and for the first time in my life, my body feels like it belongs to me instead of the public that consumed it before I even became a woman.”
High-profile friends and followers flocked to the comments to shower Stodden with support.
One Instagram user said: “You’re so amazing, brave, strong and cool. Way to take the narrative and power back but most of all I’m so sorry that happened to you. I remember being so disturbed by it.”
While another quite rightly added: “Child marriage should have been illegal 100 years ago. It’s even wilder that in a time where there are the lowest rates of marriage for grown adult women, child marriage is still legal & happening. Child marriage needs to end.”
