News broke last night that Miley Cyrus and her boyfriend of three years, Aussie super hunk Liam Hemsworth, are engaged! According to PEOPLE Magazine who had the exclusive scoop:

Miley Cyrus and Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth are engaged to be married after three years of dating, their reps confirm to PEOPLE exclusively.

“I’m so happy to be engaged and look forward to a life of happiness with Liam,” Cyrus, 19, tells PEOPLE.

Australian actor Hemsworth, 22, who met Cyrus when they costarred in The Last Song in 2009, proposed on May 31 with a 3.5-carat diamond ring from jeweler Neil Lane.

Despite hearts breaking across the world, mine in particular (seriously Liam, you were supposed to marry me), many have raised concerns about Miley’s age. The Hannah Montana star is only 19 years old and people are saying that she is too young to get married and that the marriage will never last.

Best friend Kelly Osborne’s mum Sharon has come out in defence of Miley on The Talk saying “I think that she is 19, but in her head she is an old soul. She has lived 19 lives in 19 years … She is an accomplished young woman, who knows what she wants at this time in her life.”

Miley isn’t the first girl in Hollywood to get engaged in her teens, with stars like Drew Barrymore, Elizabeth Taylor, Macaulay Culkin and Winona Ryder getting engaged before they were legally allowed to drink, but sadly, none of those marriages (or engagements) lasted.

The median age of women getting married in Australia sits steadily at around 30, with women in the US taking the plunge earlier at age 26. No matter what statistic you use, Miley is well ahead of the curve which has left many worried that 19 is simply too young to make a life long commitment. While in Hollywood that may be true, I know many women who have gotten married from aged 19 onward and are still happily married decades later.

The Ring

Case in point, my Mum. She, like Miley, became engaged to my Dad at age 19 and they were married when she was 20. They remained happily married until she died 20 years later. I know you will all say “well that was then, this is now”, but why doom this marriage to fail before it’s even begun? Yes, I know times have changed, but who’s to say that Miley and Liam won’t last the distance? For starters, we don’t even know when they are planning to get married, they might have a long engagement for all we know.

Miley’s family is supportive of the news with Achy, Breaky Heart Dad Billy Ray Cyrus wishing them well on Twitter, “All I ever hoped for as a daddy was to see my kids reach their dreams. To find happiness … peace of mind … and someday know … true love.” No word from the Hemsworths yet, though brother Chris Hemsworth has always spoken highly of Miley.

For me, when you know, you know, just because they met young doesn’t mean that they should have to wait until they are what society deems the “appropriate age” to get married. I’m not saying that they will last forever, no one can know that, but I think it’s in poor taste that when announcing such happy news that people are already taking bets on how long it will last.

On a side note: HOW AMAZING IS THAT RING!!! According to Neil Lane, it is a 3.5carat cushion-cut diamond ring, handcrafted in 18-karat gold with intricately carved diamond floral motifs in an art nouveau pattern. Miley, I’m up for sister wives if you are!

Do you think Miley is too young to be engaged? If so, when do you think is a more appropriate age to get engaged? How old were you?

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