Janet and Mike Huckabee Marriage Profile

By Sheri & Bob Stritof, About.com Guides

Janet and Mike Huckabee at the Celebration of Marriage in Little Rock, Arkansas, February 14, 2005.

Photo: Mario Villafuerte / Getty Images

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Janet and Mike Huckabee's long term marriage began when they were both 18 years old. Their marriage was tested early by illness and later by being in the political spotlight.

Here is information about how they met, their wedding, children, their thoughts on marriage, and more.

Born:

Michael Dale Huckabee: August 24, 1955 in Hope, Arkansas.

Janet McCain: July 16, 1955 in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

How Mike and Janet Met:

Although Janet and Mike met in junior high school, they didn't start dating one another until they were seniors in high school.

Mike about how he proposed to Janet: "I didn't have money for a ring yet, so I used a pull-tab from a soda can and proposed to her in her living room."
Source: "Mike & Janet Huckabee's Wedding Story." Bridesdecide.com.

Wedding Date and Information:

After their freshman year at Ouachita Baptist University, Mike and Janet were married on May 25, 1974 at Janet's mother's home in Hope, Arkansas. Janet wore a white eyelet gown and Mike wore a sky blue suit and a white bow tie.

The reception with 75 guests was also at Janet's mom's house. They had a two-tiered wedding cake.

On February 14, 2005, Janet and Mike upgraded their wedding vows to a covenant marriage.

Children:

Mike and Janet have three adult children:

John Mark Huckabee:
David Huckabee: A mortgage broker, David is married to Lauren.
Sarah Huckabee:

Occupations:

Mike: Radio and television personality, entrepreneur, professional speaker, former governor of Arkansas, pastor of a Southern Baptist church for 12 years, president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, author, bass guitar player in his rock-n-roll band, Capitol Offense.

Janet: Substitute teacher, pharmacist's assistant.

Residence:

In 2006, prior to leaving the Governor's Mansion, Janet and Mike purchased a 7,000 square-foot home in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Then, in 2010, they switched their residency to Florida where they are having a $2.2 million beachfront home built.

Huckabee Quotes About Marriage:

Janet about Mike's care after she was diagnosed with spinal cancer: "He had made a commitment to me in sickness and in health. And the test of that commitment came very early in our marriage .. He passed the test 100 percent."
Source: Bob Dart. "Huckabee charm plays well in Iowa, despite nation lag." PalmBeachPost.com. 12/02/2007.

Mike about covenant marriage: "I think people enter into covenant marriage not because they want a super marriage, but because they understand that marriage is fragile."
Source: Rick Lyman. "Trying to strengthen an 'I Do' With a More Binding Legal Tie." NYTimes.com. 2/15/2005.

Mike about their marriage: "My wife Janet and I celebrated our thirty-third wedding anniversary this past May. For us, every anniversary is a miracle. When we were both twenty and married just over a year, when I was in my last semester of college, Janet was diagnosed with cancer of the spine. I can't tell you what a stunning blow it was -- two kids just starting out, you don't think something like that can happen when you're so young. Yet there we were, staring death in the face. At first, they told us that even if she lived, she might be paralyzed from the waist down, so I'd be a young man with an invalid wife. After I learned she wouldn't be paralyzed, I was told that because of the radiation she had to receive following surgery, we'd probably never have children. I wanted children very much, I couldn't imagine never being a father. During that time, a lot of things went through my mind. But one thing never did -- the thought of leaving her. If Janet were in a wheelchair today, if we'd never had children, I can tell you this -- she would still be my wife."
Source: Mikehuckabee.com