There are only three states in America which have covenant marriages - Arizona, Arkansas, and Louisiana - but what does it mean and how is it legally distinct from the usual marriage we know? Covenant marriages includes a stipulation in which the couple agrees beforehand to be bound by two provisions if they would later seek divorce. It's like a prenup for divorce. These two stipulations include that the spouse seeking divorce must first undergo marriage counseling and must prove that there was evidence of adultery, felony, substance abuse, child or spousal abuse, or that the spouses have been living separately for the past two years.
The first state to legally approve of a law allowing covenant marriages was Louisiana which were soon followed by Arkansas and Arizona. The intent of the proponents behind the covenant marriage law was to promote and strengthen marriages among many other reasons including curtailing the divorce rate and preventing children from being born out of wedlock. However, since its inception, not a lot of couples have entered into covenant marriages in the states where they were legalized. Furthermore, there are loopholes regarding out-of-state divorce which might render the law useless.
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