Vice President JD Vance wants to put rumors about his marriage to bed.
During an interview with NBC News on Thursday, Vance revealed he and wife, Usha, are taking recent gossip regarding their relationship in stride, adding that they’re typically able to find the humor in it on most occasions.
“I think that we kind of get a kick out of it,” he said.
“With anything in life, you take the good with the bad,” the veep continued. “You accept that there are some sacrifices and there are some very good things that come along with it, too. But our marriage is as strong as it’s ever been, and I think Usha’s really taken to it, and it’s been kind of cool to see how she’s developed and evolved in this new role.”
Netizens started to speculate Vance’s marriage was on the rocks after an embrace he shared with Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika, as he took the stage at a Turning Point USA event. The hug — which saw Erika grasp Vance by the back of the head — immediately raised eyebrows, especially given her late husband’s recent murder. Shortly thereafter, Vance opened about his faith journey, telling the crowd he hoped that his wife, who is a practicing Hindu, would convert to Christianity.
Then, earlier this week, Usha, appeared alongside First Lady Melania Trump for a holiday volunteer event at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland without her wedding ring. And in late November, Usha was also seen ring-free during a visit to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
Vance recalled for NBC how they were rushing to the White House on Monday when Usha realized she’d forgotten her rings.
“She was like, ‘if I don’t go back and get them, there’s going to be some ridiculous psycho who talks about it on social media,’” Vance said. “And I was like, ‘let them; It’s not even worth the trip to run back upstairs.’ So we actually have a little bit of fun with it. And we thought that whole viral social media cycle was kind of funny.”
Vance, a former senator from Ohio, shares three children with Usha. She has spent her tenure as Second Lady spearheading a program to promote childhood literacy and development.
