They say that behind every successful man, there stands a woman. And Mike Johnson, a proud Republican who, in 2023, replaced Kevin McCarthy as the United States House of Representatives’ 56th speaker, appears to recognize this.

So, who is the woman beside Johnson, known for her staunch views on certain social issues? From her career shifts and involvement in contentious organizations to her advocacy in cultural debates and commitment to traditional marriage, Kelly Johnson’s story is both intriguing and complex.

While Mike Johnson boasts a business administration degree from Louisiana State University and a Juris Doctor from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, his wife, Kelly, is equally accomplished academically. She, too, holds multiple degrees, demonstrating a shared emphasis on education within their family.

She began her academic journey at Louisiana Tech University, majoring in elementary education, and joined the Kappa Delta sorority. She later advanced her studies at Centenary College in her hometown, earning a master’s degree in education. Interestingly, Kelly has passed on her educational legacy to her daughter, Abigail, who currently attends Louisiana Tech University.

Born into a humble Louisiana family, Kelly Johnson, nee Lary, grew up with a father who was a tractor supply parts salesman and a mother who was a high school gym teacher. And she soon realized that she wanted to follow in the latter’s educational footsteps.

She first attended Louisiana Tech University, where she studied elementary education and became a member of the Kappa Delta sorority before moving on to her hometown’s Centenary College, where she obtained a master’s degree in education. And Kelly appears to have recommended Louisiana Tech to her and Mike’s daughter, Abigail, who is a proud student at the university at the time of writing. 

After obtaining her two degrees in education, Kelly Johnson taught at several primary and secondary schools across the country. That included Providence Classical Academy, where her husband Mike Johnson — whose tuned-up look once sparked plastic surgery rumors — served as board president.

The politician paid tribute to his other half’s early career in a Facebook post uploaded to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week. “Watching my wife, Kelly, as she taught for so many years, I know first-hand the enormous amount of work and dedication that goes into managing a classroom,” Mike wrote about the woman whom he first met at a mutual friend’s wedding.

But teaching didn’t prove to be Kelly’s true calling. She moved on to something new after studying the works of the National Christian Counselors Association, a faith-based organization founded by Phyllis and Richard Arno who believe that people can be broken down into five personality types. Kelly gained a license from the Sarasota Academy of Christian Counseling and started charging for the benefits of her wisdom.

Kelly Johnson didn’t waste any time establishing herself in her new area of expertise, setting up her own company, Onward Christian Counseling Services, soon after gaining her license. But it seems fair to say that the firm advocated some pretty crackpot beliefs.

Indeed, a statement on its official website read (via Americans United), “[The organization believes] and the Bible teaches that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, b***iality, incest, pornography or any attempt to change one’s sex, or disagreement with one’s biological sex, is sinful and offensive to God.” Yes, that’s right. Johnson put homosexuality and bisexuality in the same category as b***iality and incest.

Unsurprisingly, many people took great offense at the comparison, which perhaps explains why the entire site was taken offline in 2023 once the founder’s husband was appointed the 56th House Speaker. However, an unnamed source told The New York Times that this particular message was simply a disclaimer which, if she hadn’t posted, would leave her company open to lawsuits.

Comparing homosexuality to b***iality isn’t the only time that Kelly Johnson has displayed explicitly homophobic views. While co-hosting an episode of her and husband Mike Johnson’s podcast “Truth Be Told,” the pastoral counselor spoke of her worries about the increase of LGBTQ+-identifying students.

“These are clearly unprecedented, unsettled, and very dangerous times for our children,” Kelly claimed (via Vanity Fair) while putting forward the theory that schools were indoctrinating kids as part of a woke agenda. HuffPost also reported that Kelly’s Onward Christian Counseling Services demanded its workers put their name to an agreement that clearly refutes the concept of same-sex marriage, meaning they weren’t able to offer counseling to anyone in such a partnership.

However, friends believe that Kelly has been unfairly treated by the media for her outspokenness. “People who don’t subscribe to those same beliefs vilify her for believing that,” Amy Noles moaned to The New York Times. “Because you believe something doesn’t mean that you hate the person who does whatever it is you’ve spoken out against. You love the sinner and not the sin.”

In 1999, Kelly and Mike Johnson walked down the aisle in a Louisiana ceremony, which tied them into a covenant marriage. For those not au fait with this particular form of matrimony, which is only legally recognized in just three states, this essentially means that couples can only split due to extreme circumstances such as adultery, abuse, or abandonment…with documentation.

Speaking to Diane Sawyer, no stranger to working in the White House herself, for “Good Morning America” in 2001, Kelly revealed (via People) why she decided to insist on this remarkably strict practice. “From a woman’s perspective, I’ve been in some bad relationships before, and I just knew that when I met the man that I was supposed to marry, I wanted to know it was for a lifetime,” she said. “It gives me such peace and security.”

“I think that it would be a pretty big red flag if you asked your mate or your fiancé, ‘Let’s do a covenant marriage,’ and they said they don’t really want to do that,” she went on to add. Her husband, meanwhile, reasoned to ABC four years later that as a child of divorce himself, he didn’t want to subject any of his own children to a similar kind of trauma. The Southern Baptist Convention has since crowned the pair “Champions of the Faith” for their efforts in upholding traditional marriage values.

“A thoughtful analysis of hot topics and current events from a Christian perspective.” That’s how the power couple that is House Speaker Mike Johnson, whose finances are said to be a shady mystery, and his pastoral counselor wife, Kelly Johnson, describe (via South Morning China Post) the podcast they launched in 2022.

Yes, determined not to miss out on the podcast revolution, the husband-and-wife team — whose marriage has some painfully obvious problems — decided to join forces for “Truth Be Told with Mike & Kelly Johnson,” tackling subjects such as “Protecting our Kids from Culture’s Darkness” and “Responding Biblically to Pride Month and the Culture Wars.” The podcast marked the first time that Kelly put her head above the parapet in the wake of her husband’s rise up the political ladder. According to friends, the Louisiana Tech University graduate prefers to maintain her privacy and has struggled to deal with the vast increase in media scrutiny since Mike was appointed to the United States House of Representatives.

Luckily, Kelly and Mike don’t appear to have any qualms about mixing their personal lives with their professional. “They are one of these couples that enjoys each other’s company very much,” longtime pal Laura Seabaugh told The New York Times. “They look toward each other, they lean on each other. They are definitely a partnership.”

As you would expect from such an evangelical Christian, Kelly Johnson is firmly in the pro-life camp when it comes to the thorny issue of abortion. And she’s not certainly not afraid to voice her opinion on the matter, either.

Indeed, at the Louisiana State Fair of 2018, Johnson presided over Eyes for Life, an anti-abortion booth which handed out fetus models in a bid to show attendees what this particular stage of pregnancy looks like. “Among the most effective outreach tools we have is the lifelike three-inch model of an unborn baby at 12 weeks,” she argued (via The New York Times). “As we give them a model to hold and keep, virtually everyone reacts with a sense of awe about the development of the unborn baby.”

That same year, Johnson was appointed as the Director of North Louisiana for pro-life organization Louisiana Right to Life. “We look forward to Kelly supporting these efforts, along with advancing pro-life education and activism across the region,” a statement on its official website read. “We look forward to her enthusiasm for life leading the cause of life!” The former Kappa Delta sorority member herself has four biological children with husband Mike Johnson, daughters Abigail and Hannah and sons Jack and Will. The couple also adopted Michael Tirrell James as a teen, whom they met at a Young Life Ministries event when they were only in their mid-twenties themselves. 

Kelly Johnson hasn’t exactly made herself the most popular figure among the left-hand side of the U.S. political spectrum. “If possible, just as weird as her husband” came Stephen Colbert’s character assassination in response to her Onward Christian Counseling Services’ statement comparing homosexuality to b***iality. But the Louisiana Tech University graduate appears to have no qualms about taking on the enemy.

According to reports, Johnson sees herself on the frontline of the modern-day culture wars. And as well as putting the world to rights on the “Truth Be Told” podcast, she and her husband Mike Johnson have also staged a seminar titled “Answers for Our Times: Government, Culture, and Christianity,” posing questions such as “Can our heritage as a Christian nation be preserved” and “What is happening in America and how do we fix it?”

Speaking to The New York Times, longtime pal and the Louisiana State Supreme Court judge’s wife, Nancy Victory, expressed pride at how the Johnsons — who have a somewhat quickie relationship timeline — are fighting for their cause. “In this country, we have a right to have our own beliefs — and they do, too. They are central to their identity.”

Shortly after being elected the 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Mike Johnson and his other half, Kelly Johnson, agreed to be interviewed for the Fox News show “Outnumbered.” But instead of championing her husband’s political nous, the latter instead expressed her belief that a higher power was at play for his triumph.

“I believe that God has blessed him here,” Kelly told Kayleigh McEnany (via The Wrap). “That’s Biblical. The Bible says He raises up leaders and He brings them down, right? So I believe that God has him here for just this time.” However, the pastoral counselor did acknowledge her husband’s qualities, too, particularly for how he’s dealt with the intense press scrutiny: Mike had infamously just created a whole lot of headlines for remarking in his first speech that his wife had “spent the last couple of weeks on her knees in prayer,” a line which many commentators bordered on the crass. 

“I know it goes along with the territory here, but it makes me very sad,” Kelly said. “It breaks my heart because I wish that they knew this guy that I know. He is one of the most loving, kind, genuine people I’ve ever known and he loves all people and would give you the shirt off of his back.” Of course, this wouldn’t be their last awkward interview to give everyone the ick.