People are saying "I do" later in life — and now, more say they'll never tie the knot.

The big picture: The median age of those getting married for the first time was nearly 30 in 2023, up two years from 2010, according to census data.

• Compare that to 1950, when the median age was around 22, per the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey.

State of play: D.C., New York and California residents are the oldest at their first marriage, at around 31, while Utah, Idaho and West Virginia residents are the youngest, at around 27, recent data shows.

Congratulations on your engagement — but is that a "real" diamond?

Why it matters: Flashy, lab-grown gems are dividing jewelry lovers.

The big picture: Rings have grown bigger as lab-grown diamonds catch on, mainly because they cost a fraction of natural stones.

What they're saying: Many young couples choose lab-grown diamond rings to save money for a home or other priorities, jewelers and experts say.

• Others want to score their dream bling for less or see the gems as more ethical.

Reality check: Lab-grown diamonds are just as real as mined ones.

But not everyone is sold on the trend. Naysayers have compared sporting lab-grown jewels to carrying a knockoff designer bag.

• "Buy what you can afford and be happy with it. Don't be fake," one TikTok user wrote on custom jeweler Erica Sett's page, which captures the debate.

The latest: Some critics press ring owners to share if their stones are lab-grown.

• "It's the people who have a 4-carat lab [diamond] and lie or aren't upfront about it that make it annoying for the natural girlies," another TikTok user commented on the page.

By the numbers: Posts tagged #LabGrownDiamond and #LabGrownDiamonds each more than doubled in the first 10 months of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023, according to TikTok.

"It used to be such a flex to have a 3-carat diamond or a certain color or clarity" grade, says Sett, who's based in New York City and works with natural and lab-grown stones.

• "People feel like their natural diamonds become less special to them when everyone else has what they have, and only they know it's natural," she tells Axios.

Follow the money: In 2020, the average lab-grown diamond was 1.2 carats and cost $3,887, Axios' Felix Salmon reports from industry data.

• By 2024, the average size had swelled 60% to 1.9 carats, while the average price had dropped by 30% to $2,657.

What we're watching: "Giant diamond" fatigue could push shoppers toward smaller or colorful stones, Sett says.

Meanwhile, natural diamond jewelers are courting millennials and Gen Z.

• A new marketing campaign from two major companies promotes their diamonds as "worth the wait."

The bottom line: Sharp opinions aside, your rock is between you and your partner.

Parents tell Axios they're still helping their kids pay for new houses.

Why it matters: As housing costs soar, 26% of younger people who recently bought homes say they used family cash for down payments, up from 23% last year, according to Redfin research.

How it works: Parents have maxed out annual gift tax limits or lent their children money to win bidding wars.

• Deb Sen says she's giving her married son money each year to help him and his partner purchase a property in Chicago.
• Even so, she expects it will take the couple around three years to afford a down payment.

In Minneapolis, parents recently paid cash for their child's $1.2 million home, real estate agent Joey Oslund says.

Between the lines: More house hunters are asking loved ones for cash instead of traditional wedding or baby gifts.

• Others are boomeranging back to their family homes to save money.
• Near-record shares of men and women ages 25-34 lived with their parents last year, four decades of census data shows.

Reality check: Those "who don't have family money are often shut out of homeownership," Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather said in a research report.

• In time, this could widen the homeownership gap between Black and white families, an Urban Institute analysis suggests.

The intrigue: Some parents have struck deals they say are mutually beneficial.

• Colette Martin-Wilde's son purchased a three-bedroom house in New Orleans with her support.
• Martin-Wilde, who lives in Chicago, invested $15,000 in the home and co-signed the loan, with the condition that she'd get her money back plus a cut of the proceeds when he sold it.
• "While we don't want to be the 'Bank of Mom and Dad,' there are opportunities to help our kids learn and grow financially that are mutually beneficial," Martin-Wilde says.

What's next: President-elect Trump's proposals to blunt the high cost of housing include easing construction regulations and making more federal land available for development.

• But experts say there's no quick fix for the challenges plaguing the home market.