Courtney Stodden Is Taking Things Slow With Romance, Not Ready for Marriage Anytime Soon

27-year-old Courtney Stodden, who was exhilarated when their fiancé Chris Sheng popped the proposal question back in May, is in no hurry to walk down the aisle.

They are happy to be engaged but they intend to take things slow before they tie the nuptial knot. The singer and model, who identified as non-binary in April and now uses they/them pronouns, was proposed to a year after finalizing divorce from Dough Hutchinson whom they married as a teenager.

Sheng, a start-up advisor, shared more details of the proposal on his Instagram, noting that that wasn't the way he intended to propose but the "time was right." He also mentioned that this was the first time they were experiencing unconditional love, the kind of love which was true, where they might not always like each other, but would always respect each other.

In an interview with E!, Stodden mentioned that their fiancé got down on one knee while they bawled their eyes out. "We returned home from a night out in Palm Springs and in between the rose and pent-up feelings, I needed a good cry! He reminded me that I'm not alone and said, 'I'm never going anywhere. I'll always be here for you.''' The star added that it was such a teary moment for them because ''everything within the last few weeks had dredged up a lot of trauma."

This would be Stodden's second marriage, following their much-publicized marriage to Hutchinson, who they married as a teenager. Hutchinson, at the time, was 51 years.

This marriage was approved by Stodden's parents. Sadly, the American model and Hutchinson split in 2013, and less than a year later, they decided to reconcile. However, they separated again in 2016, in the same year Stodden suffered a miscarriage. They filed for divorce in 2018, and this divorce was finalized in March 2020.

At the time, Stodden announced on their Instagram, addressing Hutchinson in part; "I'll always love you; yet I'll always be angry," they wrote. "You've left me – a child-woman, feeling belittled and confused. These things I shall overcome. I wish you well. But please don't ever do this to another minor again. It's not right, even if the parent signs off. Wait a respectable amount of time before marrying. Children aren't on your level. I'll always love you regardless. Be better. As shall I."

In 2011, the then 16-year-old Stodden made international headlines and faced some online bullying after it was announced they had married Hutchinson who was 51 years old at the time.

The actor came into the spotlight after playing Horace Goodspeed in the hit series "Lost," and corrections officer, Percy Wetmore, in the 1999 film "The Green Mile." He married Stodden, his third wife, on May 20 of that year in Las Vegas. In Nevada, 16 was the age of consent and young people were allowed to legally get married following permission from a legal guardian.

The couple replied to the backlash over the age difference in their relationship in a statement which stated that they were aware of their vast age difference and how extremely controversial it was, but they were "very much in love and want to get the message out there that true love can be ageless."

In the year 2012, the couple broke up after less than two years of marriage stating Stodden's interest in "exploring life as an unmarried single young adult." Stodden noted in a later statement that they had no idea what they were getting themselves into, but they were excited to be with the man they loved and also thrilled to encounter their first sexual experience.

In 2011, Hutchison and Stodden tied the knot in a Vegas ceremony with the help of the latter's mother's consent, a move that she later revealed she regretted.

Krista Stodden, Stodden's mom, mentioned to Radar how she made a mistake approving her daughter’s marriage to a man twice her age. She mentioned how horrible Hutchinson became after the divorce and noted that it would take a long time before she could forget all the terrible things he did.

"I do take full responsibility, however, because I am the one that did sign the paper for her to marry this man," Krista Stodden admitted. "If I had to do it all over again I cannot tell you if I would be signing that paper," she concluded.

Stodden spoke about their past issues with Teigen, whose past actions of online bullying re-surfaced this year.

They mentioned that it was a painful memory to remember and a difficult experience to go through because it felt like the television personality was telling them to kill themselves.

"It just brings me back to that place of being told that I'm not good enough or I'm not worthy of life. It was in my face all the time," they added.

After the bullying reports went viral, fans slammed Teigen online for her cruel behavior, and almost canceled her. However, she reached out with a public apology to Stodden, noting that she has no justification for the things she said and wished they could find a place in their heart to forgive her.

She also apologized to the public for not being a good representative and using her platform to come at the young model.