Hi, I'm Melissa Malano. And this is Sorry Not Sorry. So, I was shocked to learn that much of the United States, including California has no minimum age for marriage.

To get into the roots of this issue and the harm it does, we've invited Freddie Reese on the

show.

Freddie herself endured a forced marriage and is now the executive director of Unchained

at Last, an organization dedicated to fighting forced and underage marriage.

around the world a gold under the age of 15 gets married every seven seconds. I've heard you talk about parents' rights to raise

their kids how they want. In fact, I just double-checked. You voted no on making it

illegal for kids to be married to adults.

Republicans in West Virginia are simultaneously calling teachers,

groomers, and voting down legislation that would prevent child

marriage in their state.

To know that at 13 my marriage was recognized legally here is mind-boggling.

I am free, Reese, and I am going to end forced and child marriage in the United States.

Sorry, not sorry.

Frady, thank you so much for being a part of the podcast.

Welcome.

Why don't you start by telling us a little bit about who you are and what you do?

First of all, thank you so much for having me.

It is such an honor to be here and so grateful to count you as an ally in the push to end force and child marriage in the United States.

I am a forced marriage survivor myself, was forced to marry as a teen in New York City

to a stranger who turned out to be violent something I learned exactly one week after our wedding

but I was trapped for 15 years in this

...