Gen Z Woman Mourns Weddings After Friends Take Being Single 'Too Far'

Younger generations are slower to get married—and one TikToker wishes her friends would hurry up.

Mary Steven, @oatmilkleader on TikTok, opened up a discussion about delayed marriages among friends and people her age, confessing that "maybe we took being single a bit too far." Since posting on February 10, the video has received over 478,000 likes.

"Maybe we cheered each other on in our singleness a bit too much," she said. "Because I'm looking around the group and thinking, 'Not even one wedding is on the horizon.'"

"We are actually so single that we are at the point where I wouldn't even go into a shop and pick up an expensive dress and think, 'I'll save this for a wedding,'" Mary said in the video.

Mary said her desire to attend weddings is because she wants to attend them "in her prime," enjoying herself at an open bar.

Viewers of the video empathized, saying they could use a little less emphasis on independence for the sake of a fun wedding. But others spoke to Mary and younger viewers from the other side, saying that there was plenty of time and not to wish too hard for this season of life to pass.

"We're so obsessed with marriage...ladies, embrace your singleness, marriage will follow," user @sphemchunuuu wrote.

Research Shows Gen Z Do Want Weddings—Just Cheaper Ones

Many commenters were quick to point out the expenses involved in wedding seasons.

"A word of warning - friends' weddings are like buses. You wait ages for one and then three come along at once and suddenly all your money is finished," @worldofsas wrote.

Do not wish this part a way!! People will start getting married and it is SO EXPENSIVE," @izzyduignansnumber1fancg said.

The comments track with research that has shown that Gen Z-ers--though not opposed to marriage--are far more concerned with its costs.

A survey conducted by the Thriving Center of Psychology revealed that 83 percent of Gen Z and millennials do anticipate marrying someday.

"Older generations may have felt drawn to marriage out of necessity or obligated based on societal pressures which also led to high divorce rates, but Gen Z sees things differently," Stephanie Kaplan Lewis, co-founder & CEO of Her Campus Media, told Newsweek earlier this month.

"For them, there is renewed hope in committing to a partner and having a built-in support system."

However, 73 percent of the 906 people surveyed do feel it's too expensive to get married in this economy.

A different survey conducted on behalf of Newsweek by Redfield and Wilton Strategies in 2023 showed that Gen Z was in favor of spending far less on their nuptials than their millennial counterparts.

According to the survey, 25 percent of Gen Z respondents aged 18 to 25 felt $10,000 to $20,000 was an acceptable cost for an average wedding.

Mary, then, might be disappointed with the amenities she expects when her friends' weddings do start to take off. She lacks hope, though, that she will see them anytime soon.

"Time is running out...we are going to need the weddings to start rolling in," she said in the video. "I just don't know if I will be seeing a wedding before the decade is out—unfortunately for me."