Dad Roly Barratt's advice to 16-year-old son: don't be a child groom like me Roly Barratt hopes his son Ezak won't make the same mistake as him and marry young. When Roly Barratt dispenses marriage advice to his 16-year-old son, it's "do as I say, not as I do." Back in 1992, love-struck 17-year-old Roly became engaged to his 15-year-old sweetheart. Sharon and Roly Barrett made national headlines later that year by getting married in New Zealand, where under-18 marriages were legal, unlike in Australia. Teenage married couple Roly Barrett and his wife, Sharon. "We got married so young, it was crazy," Roly Barratt, now 39, said. The Alstonville couple divorced last year after 20 years of marriage and three children. They did better than many, with the average marriage now lasting just 12 years, but Roly Barratt's advice to his son Ezak, who is now madly in love for the first time, is don't rush in. What "do as I say, not as I do" advice did your parents give to you? My eldest son is 16, that's the scary thing, how did I do it at that age? I'd encourage him to not get married too quickly, there is so much to do and experience," Mr Barratt said, adding his own mother told him he was "a silly young fool" back in 1992 and refused to attend the wedding. The Sunday Telegraph front page after Roly and Sharon's marriage in New Zealand. Mr Barratt said he is not anti-marriage, far from it, but he has sound advice for Ezak, and other men for that matter. "They were the best 20 years of my life, it was everything we hoped for and more, but in the end we neglected the relationship and she fell out of love with me and I had no idea and that's apparently the norm, guys just don't see it coming," he said. Their youth and immaturity also played a role he said. While their peers were having hearts regularly broken and patched up on the couch eating commiserating ice cream, the young couple formed an unhealthy dependency. I think when you are young, you have immature emotional reactions and jealousies and insecurities. We never spent time alone as young adults. We never learnt how to be alone with ourselves, that never happened with us," he said. "A relationship needs to be nourished and watered but we don't take the time to think what that means, but a relationship needs to be managed, you need to check in with the other person," he said. So what if Ezak decides to follow in Dad's footsteps? I'd have a serious conversation about what it all means, I'd like him to understand and not make the same mistakes I did. I think you need professional advice sometimes and when you need help, seek it. We let the flower die.