Speaker Mike Johnson And His Wife Kelly's Quickie Relationship Timeline

When Mike Johnson and Kelly Lary wed in 1999, they did so under a covenant, effectively nixing their chances of divorce bar very serious circumstances. It was a very big risk, no doubt, especially because at the time of the marriage, they hadn't even known each other for a full year.

Johnson and Lary met at a 1998 wedding when they were both in their mid-20s. Writing in a post celebrating their 19th anniversary, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives shared via Facebook. "I somehow convinced her to walk down the aisle 364 days later," he recalled. That particular timeline may be surprising for some, but given just how fast their relationship had moved up to that point, it kind of checks out. As he wrote in a separate 2023 Facebook post, "I told Kelly I loved her about three weeks after we met(!), and I really did." He also admitted that, looking back, he could see that it may have been a little early to be declaring the kind of love he was at the time. "I couldn't have known then how that early infatuation would mature over the years into the deep, soulful appreciation I now have for everything about this amazing woman," he recalled. While it's clear that being husband and wife and starting a family together had brought them closer and cemented their bond, he seemed to grasp how premature his early feelings were at the time.

Still, it was clear the Louisiana politician felt everything had worked out perfectly, and that's just as well. After all, like we said, he and Lary have a covenant marriage. In a nutshell, that's official for, "I do — no takebacks!"

While those who follow Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard's marriage or who are familiar with Jeremy and Audrey Roloff's relationship will likely have an idea of what a covenant marriage is and what it entails, it's certainly not a common practice. For the uninitiated, a covenant marriage makes it much harder for spouses to get a divorce (or even impossible in the absence of things like abuse and infidelity) and requires spouses to instead undergo counseling when troubles arise. As Diane Sawyer explained in a 2001 episode of "Good Morning America," it also sometimes means couples have to undergo a two-year waiting period before being able to obtain a divorce. Another interesting detail Sawyer brought up in that broadcast, which featured Mike Johnson and Kelly Lary as guests, was that the practice tried to prevent couples from getting hitched too quickly. 

Of course, in Johnson and Lary's case, their quickie marriage doesn't seem to have been a problem. Given the prerequisite for counseling, perhaps the couple felt ready to take the plunge. Certainly, Lary's comments on "Good Morning America" made it clear that she was thrilled they'd gone the covenant route. In fact, as seen in a clip from the chat, Lary gushed about how she felt it was the best choice for women. "I think it's a big red flag for women if you decide that you want to opt into covenant marriage and your mate says, 'No, I don't think so' ... maybe we need to re-think the situation," she chuckled. 

Johnson and Lary are still together more than two decades down the line, so evidently things turned out fine for the lovebirds in the end. Alexa, play, "Love is a gamble" by Eartha Kitt.