Usha Vance has addressed rumors about her marriage following her appearance without a wedding ring.
Usha is married to JD Vance, the current Vice President of the United States. The couple tied the knot in 2014 and have three children together.
The Vance family has been close to Charlie Kirk and has provided significant support to his wife, Erika, after his tragic assassination. Usha has been seen comforting Erika on several occasions.
JD Vance has also shown support, recently attending a Turning Point USA event at Erika’s invitation.
During the event, Erika introduced JD, drawing comparisons between him and her late husband.
She remarked: “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.”
After JD took the stage, their embrace, where Erika placed her hand on JD’s head, went viral and was labeled by many as ‘inappropriate’.
One Twitter user commented: “I have never wanted to touch any man’s hair during a hug other than my husband’s. This is weird.”
Another questioned: “Why would she touch the VP of the United States hair/head in an embrace?”
A body language expert described the hug as ‘super intimate’. Traci Brown told the Huff Post that Erika’s gesture of running her fingers through JD’s hair was a “super-intimate move,” adding that it also served to control his attention.
Following the hug, Usha was seen without her wedding ring during a visit to Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, with First Lady Melania Trump on November 19.
She attended the event wearing a long burgundy, turtle-neck dress and, while she donned earrings, her wedding band was noticeably absent.
This absence fueled speculation about potential marital issues with JD, but a representative for Usha, 39, dismissed these rumors.
In a statement to PEOPLE, the rep explained that Usha, as a mother of three young children, frequently engages in activities like washing dishes and giving baths, which sometimes leads to her forgetting to wear her ring.
Usha and JD have three children: Ewan, eight, Vivek, five, and Mirabel, who is three years old.