Vice President JD Vance's wife Usha is shutting down rumors that their marriage is in trouble.
The second lady, 39, visited Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, a military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina, alongside first lady Melania Trump on Wednesday, November 19, where they spent time with military members and their families to show appreciation for those who serve during the holiday season.
© Getty ImagesIt was Usha and Melania's first public appearance together, yet pictures published from the event revealed that Usha was not wearing her wedding ring; she tied the knot with JD in 2014.
Amid the rampant speculation surrounding the pictures, a spokesperson for the second lady addressed the lack of jewelry, telling the press in a statement that Usha is a "mother of three young children, who does a lot of dishes, gives lots of baths, and forgets her ring sometimes".
© AFP via Getty ImagesIt was a rare, public comment from the office of the second lady, who has rarely spoken with the press even during her official outings, but whose marriage had been under scrutiny for some time, particularly amid comments and actions made by her husband.
In October, weeks after Charlie Kirk's assassination during a Turning Point USA event, JD was seen sharing a lingering hug on stage with Erika Kirk, Charlie's wife.
© Getty ImagesThe moment also saw Erika place her hand on the back of his head, while JD's hands briefly rested on her waist, which led to much discussion about whether their behaviour and the hand placements were appropriate considering JD's marriage status.
"That’s a super-intimate move, but beyond that, it controls his attention — so, she’s controlling what he’s looking at," Traci Brown, a body language expert and behavior analysis shared, while the decision to place her fingers in his hair "shows affection" and "signals she’s comfortable" with JD, said Karen Donaldson, a communication and body language expert.
© Getty ImagesErika — who is now Turning Point's CEO — later told the crowds at the University of Mississippi tour stop that she saw "similarities" between her late husband and JD while introducing 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,” Erika said.
© Getty ImagesJD is a former U.S. Marine and military journalist who worked as a corporate lawyer before he came to public attention in 2016 with the release of his memoir Hillbilly Elegy.
Usha, a second-generation American whose parents were Telugu Indian immigrants, met JD at Yale Law School, and they married in 2014 in Kentucky in an interfaith marriage ceremony; Usha is Hindu, and her husband converted to Catholicism in 2019 after being a self-described atheist.
© POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesThey are parents to three children: sons Ewan, eight, and five-year-old Vivek, and daughter Mirabel, three.
Usha has often been seen without her ring, including during a visit to Walter Reed with her husband earlier in November, and during a visit to Pennsylvania in July.
