20-year old dude looks like he's 12, still manages to marry girl of his dreams

© Coconuts Media "Is your big sister still single?"

Getting married is a pretty big step in 2016's ragged economy, but some newlyweds clearly have it harder than others. Mahamad Fitra Mahamad Tahid, 20, was one such groom.

Even though he's legally old enough to get married, and had indeed found a soulmate in 19-year old Nurul Syazwani Mustafa, the Sungai Petani, Kedah resident had a hard time convincing state religious officials that he was of age because ... well ...

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There's clearly nothing wrong with being youthful, but we assume there would be obstacles inherent to a life spent looking like you've taken a wrong turn on the walk home from primary school.

Turns out, Fitra was diagnosed with a hereditary condition called talasemia major when he was 10 months old. He believes the condition, in which a gene in the huma hemoglobin system is mutated at birth, is the cause of his appearance.

Speaking to Harian Metro, Fitra confessed to having to repeatedly convince a state religious officer that he was 20, with his IC burning a hole in his hand from having needed to be presented at almost every step of his marriage license procurement - several times each.

Even many of the guests who attended Fitra and Syazwani's wedding reception were takn aback by how young the groom looked. "A lot of guests walked up to us and asked me how old I was," Fitra said. "Even during the wedding feast, many people just kept staring at us."

Don't pay any attention to the haters, man. Selamat pengantin baru!