Courtney Stodden has returned to Los Angeles after watching the passage of a new law banning child marriage in the state of California.Stodden was just 16 when she wed 51-year-old actor Doug Hutchinson in Las Vegas with the approval of her mother. Now marriage under the age of 18 has been prohibited in the Golden State. Stodden stood by California Governor Gavin Newsom’s side as he signed AB 1267, the new law banning child marriage in the Golden State.She was pictured jetting into LAX on Thursday with her husband Jared Safier, Now 32, an elated Stodden celebrated the bill’s passage that she ‘spent years wishing someone had protected the little girl i used to be.”a girl can dream… and sometimes the governor signs it into law,’ she posted. ‘today i watched governor newsom sign AB 1267, ending child marriage in california. i spent years wishing someone had protected the little girl i used to be.’ Courtney Stodden has returned to Los Angeles after watching the passage of a new law banning child marriage in the state of California Stodden was by Governor Gavin Newsom’s side as he signed the bill into law In 2011, a then 16-year-old Courtney wed 51-year-old Doug Hutchinson; pictured 2013’today, california protected the next one.and yes, i called him daddy newsom. what can i say? i’ve always had a weakness for a man with a pen. thank you @unchainedatlast and every survivor who fought beside us. california is only the beginning. all 50, baby.’The law repeals provisions that allowed children under the age of 18 to marry or enter a domestic partnership with the consent of their parents. It also makes the minimum age to marry or enter a domestic partnership in the state at age 18. Child marriage has also been banned without exception in 17 other states but Stodden, who has been advocating for the bill for some time, has vowed to continue ‘fighting until children are protected from marriage’ all throughout the country. ‘Governor Newsom’s action today made clear to me and to survivors of child marriage everywhere that we should never have been expected to carry this burden,’ Stodden said. ‘I’m deeply grateful to Unchained At Last and every survivor who fought to make this possible — California is a victory, but I’m not stopping here. I will keep fighting until children are protected from marriage in all 50 states.’ Stodden was a minor when she married Hutchinson in 2011, a union that sparked major controversy. The relationship received the approval of her mother Krista Stodden, who told Radar Online at the time: ‘We are totally supportive of this marriage.’ Stodden was seen landing in LAX on Thursday with her husband Jared Safier, who was wheeling their luggage through the airport Stodden said she ‘spent years wishing someone had protected the little girl i used to be’ as she celebrated the bill’s passage with her Instagram followers’Doug is a wonderful man and we love him,’ she added. Hutchinson said he contacted Stodden’s parents when he realized he was developing feelings for the teenager. ‘I said, Krista, I don’t know if you know this or not, but your daughter and I are falling in love…. If you and [Courtney’s father, Alex Stodden] have any misgivings whatsoever about this … I will respect you, and Courtney will respect you. And we will step back,’ he said during an interview on Good Morning America at the time. The marriage ended in 2020 and Stodden has been vocal about the pain she endured in the years since – saying she was ‘exploited’ at the time. In a 2022 interview with Call Her Daddy, Stodden referred to Hutchinson as ‘predator’.Recalling their marriage, she said: ‘I felt like I didn’t have any control over my own body, my own finances. I couldn’t sign any legal documents in that marriage. I couldn’t sign off on my own marriage, I was just so controlled’.Courtney also likened the marriage to a ‘trauma bond’ and called her ex-husband a ‘paedophile’. The marriage ultimately ended and Stodden has since called Hutchinson a ‘predator’; pictured 2015’But then I think that there’s this trauma bond that happens when you’re that age, right? I don’t want to say I had Stockholm Syndrome, but there’s this grooming. It’s the mental effects of grooming, where I didn’t want to believe.’My pedophile husband is the one who decided to sign me up for things because he needed the money. Another misconception is people thought I was a gold digger, [that] I married him for money’ she said.’I was not a child bride. I was a child who was exploited… I think that is something people should think about’.Stodden repeated the allegations of grooming during an appearance on ABC Nightline, prompting her ex to call them ‘false malicious and egregious allegations.’ Last year during an interview with the Daily Mail, Stodden discussed new ‘pain’ over her tragic marriage to Hutchinson.’It stays with me, the pain, I won’t stay quiet,’ she said before claiming that her ex-husband had been ’emotionally abusive.”My voice is my power and for every voice silenced, I’ll shout louder. And I won’t ask for permission to do what’s right. Not anymore. I speak for that little girl within.’The model added that she is now ‘living life on my own terms now’ while staying both ‘strong’ and ‘resilient.’ She then said: ‘I want past victims and survivors to really tap into that part of themselves. We are so strong.’