Usha Vance Addresses Rumors About Marriage to Vice President JD Vance Following Ringless Appearance
Speculation about the state of Vice President JD Vance’s marriage to Second Lady Usha Vance surged this week after she was seen in public without her wedding ring. The second lady, who is known for maintaining a low profile, has now addressed the matter through a spokesperson.
On Wednesday, Nov. 19, Usha, 39, accompanied First Lady Melania Trump on a visit to Camp Lejeune, a military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Photographs from the visit showed Usha without her wedding band, prompting a wave of social media chatter questioning the couple’s marital status.
In response, a spokesperson for Usha clarified the circumstances in a statement, emphasizing the second lady’s busy family life. “Usha is a mother of three young children, who does a lot of dishes, gives lots of baths, and forgets her ring sometimes,” the statement read, underscoring the ordinary nature of the oversight.
JD and Usha Vance have been married since 2014 and share three children: Ewan, 8, Vivek, 5, and Mirabel, 3. Despite the reassurance from the spokesperson, the rumors were further fueled by a moment involving JD Vance and Erika Kirk, widow of the late conservative organizer Charlie Kirk.
Weeks after Charlie Kirk’s assassination during a Turning Point USA event, Erika Kirk, who now leads the organization, introduced JD Vance at a University of Mississippi event with an emotional speech. In it, she drew parallels between her late husband and the vice president. “No one will ever replace my husband. But I do see some similarities of my husband in JD — in Vice President JD Vance. I do. And that’s why I am so blessed to be able to introduce him tonight,” she said, moments before embracing JD onstage.
The hug, which included Erika placing her hand on the back of JD’s head while his hands briefly rested on her waist, quickly went viral. Social media users dissected the interaction, debating whether the display was appropriate given the recent tragedy. Prior to the public appearance, Erika had praised both JD and Usha for their support following her husband’s death. “He’s been a blessing. He and Usha, they are the most incredible people. Incredible. With such genuine love,” she said in an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters, recorded before the viral moment. “Just everything they did for us was so humanized. They were there for us. They’ve been there for us.”
JD Vance also drew attention at the Oct. 29 Turning Point event for comments regarding his wife’s religion. When a student inquired about raising children in a multi-faith household, Vance explained that he hopes his wife, who was raised Hindu, might one day convert to Catholicism, which he adopted in his 30s after previously identifying as an atheist.
“Everybody has to come to their own arrangement here,” Vance said. “The way that we’ve come to our arrangement is she’s my best friend. We talk to each other about this stuff. So, we’ve decided to raise our kids Christian.” He continued, “Most Sundays, Usha will come with me to church. Do I hope, eventually, that she is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved in by church? Yeah, honestly, I do wish that, because I believe in the Christian gospel and I hope eventually my wife comes to see it the same way. But if she doesn’t, then God says everybody has free will and so that doesn’t cause a problem for me.”
Vance concluded by stressing a key principle of his faith: respecting free will. “One of the most important Christian principles is that you respect free will,” he said, framing the couple’s interfaith household as a matter of mutual understanding rather than conflict.
