'What's the point of making her wait?': Girl, 15, reveals why her parents encouraged her to travel to Missouri and MARRY her 17-year-old boyfriend five months after they started dating

  • Samantha and Dylan Knowles left their native Kansas to tie the knot in Missouri
  • State allows teens as young as 15 to wed with just a parent's signature slip 
  • Joy and Doug Bradford didn't see the point in delaying their daughter's marriage
  • They got engaged with Star Wars rings and have been living with their parents  

Samantha Knowles doesn't have a license, a job, or a high school degree. She can't even get into an R-rated movie. 

But the 15-year-old Kansas teen is legally married. 

Samantha and her partner Dylan, 17, are among the thousands of teens who have turned Missouri into a destination for child brides and grooms. 

The state has the most lenient marriage laws in the country when it comes to age, allowing teen couples to say 'I do' as long as they each a parent's permission.

It was Samantha's parents who actually encouraged her to get married to the boy who once told her he liked his women like his coffee - 'white, thick, and sweet.' 

Samantha, 15, and her partner Dylan, 17, (pictured together) are among the thousands of teens who have turned Missouri into a destination for child brides and grooms

Samantha, 15, and her partner Dylan, 17, (pictured together) are among the thousands of teens who have turned Missouri into a destination for child brides and grooms

It was Samantha's parents who actually encouraged her to get married to Dylan five months after they officially began dating 

It was Samantha's parents who actually encouraged her to get married to Dylan five months after they officially began dating 

The pair had met at a Leavenworth restaurant, where Dylan worked and Sammy - who was 13 at the time - started an internship as part of her homeschooling.  

While Dylan's first line didn't do much to impress his new co-worker, the teens formed a quick bond, they told the Kansas City Star

But Sammy wasn't allowed to date. When her parents found out she was talking to a boy, she was forbidden any phone, laptop, or internet access for six months.

The pair crossed paths months later and, after a memorable date under the stars, Sammy convinced her parents to let her date Dylan. 

Five months later, they were married. 

Joy and Doug Bradford, who adopted Sammy out of foster care when she was four years old, could tell their daughter was going to 'become more sexually intimate'. 

Dylan had already told the Bradfords he wanted to marry Sammy when she turned 17. They didn't believe in sex before marriage, and thus didn't see a reason to delay. 

'Samantha...she's very mature for her age. He's a stand-up guy. He's very mature for his age,' Joy told the Kansas City Star. 

Joy and Doug Bradford could tell their daughter was going to 'become more sexually intimate' with Dylan and believed they should get married first 

Joy and Doug Bradford could tell their daughter was going to 'become more sexually intimate' with Dylan and believed they should get married first 

'And they have found each other in a world that is full of a lot of people who don't give a crap about other people. What's the point of making her wait?' 

'You're ignoring thousands of years that were different,' she added. 

Dylan had already told the Bradfords he wanted to marry Sammy when she turned 17. They didn't see a reason to delay

Dylan had already told the Bradfords he wanted to marry Sammy when she turned 17. They didn't see a reason to delay

'It used to be that girls were wives and mothers at 13, 14, 15, 16. The only reason that seems so young now is that we don't expect our kids to grow up.' 

Sammy and Dylan got engaged with toy Star Wars rings and, with their parents' signatures in tow, headed to Missouri to exchange vows. 

It took Dylan's father, James Knowles, a month to think things through before he signed off on the wedding. 

'I think they can have a bright and happy future, as long as they get themselves established in the adult world before they have kids,' he said.   

Dylan's mom was upset by the marriage at first, but has since come around as well.

But his grandmother, Patricia Eismann, still believes it's a mistake - especially as Dylan has since enlisted in the Navy.

'He's going off. He's going to experience different places, different things, people, women,' she said. 

'I just feel like there's a long road ahead of them.' 

Sammy and Dylan got engaged with toy Star Wars rings and, with their parent's signatures in tow, headed to Missouri to exchange their vows

Sammy and Dylan got engaged with toy Star Wars rings and, with their parent's signatures in tow, headed to Missouri to exchange their vows

There are still the questions. Sammy said everyone asked if she was pregnant when she announced the news, and plenty of people have told Joy she was 'crazy' for letting her daughter get married so soon. 

The young couple cannot afford their own home yet, bouncing between their parents' residences, and Sammy isn't even old enough to get her GED

The young couple cannot afford their own home yet, bouncing between their parents' residences, and Sammy isn't even old enough to get her GED

The young couple cannot afford their own home yet, bouncing between their parents' residences, and Sammy isn't even old enough to get her GED. 

But the pair, who will get $1,600 a month from the military once Dylan finishes training, are determined to make it work. 

'We're going to be together through the bad, through the good, through everything,' Sammy said. 'Divorce is not an option.' 

'We said those vows. We said through sickness, health, everybody knows it.' 

'As soon as things get hard, if you're just immediately going to turn back on that and decide, "No, never mind", what's the point of getting married?' 

Dylan agreed, saying the teens weren't scared of the commitment that a marriage entails.

'I guess what marriage is, is deciding right here, right now, 10 years, 20 years, 30 years down the road, that this is the person you want to be with,' he said. 

'This is the life you want. No matter what happens next, you're with that person through it all.' 

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.