Vice President JD Vance has a high-ranking role in the federal government. Still, the Ohio native’s marriage seems to garner more attention than his work as President Donald Trump’s sidekick.
JD and his wife, Usha Vance, represented the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, where they were joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and several American Olympic gold medalists.
On Feb. 8, Vance shared a photograph of JD, Usha, and Rubio at the U.S. Olympic Delegation lunch on his verified Instagram account. Retired figure skater Evan Lysacek and retired speed skater Apolo Ohno posed for the photo as well.
Former ice hockey players and twin sisters Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando were positioned directly next to JD, leaving Usha standing to the far right, two people away from her husband.
The picture sparked its own conversation in the wake of wild internet gossip about JD’s relationship with Usha, as prying social media users questioned why the veep and the second lady were separated in the snapshot.
“Why did JD Vance put Usha at the end of the photo?” many wondered across X and Threads, suspecting their distance was intentional.
“It’s kinda like when you’re planning to dump someone so you put them on the end so you can crop them out later,” said one person. Another suggested, “Because Usha means nothing to him. Look at his body language; he slightly facing toward that blond chick. Vance mostly has his arm at her back.”
One user who zoomed in on wondered, “Who’s the blonde Vance has his arm around? Or is he groping her?”
Leaning into the distance between JD and Usha in the photo, some began speculating, “He does not like her anymore. That’s clear as day. And sad af!” and “He treats her like garbage. Are they married?”
The 41-year-old politician met his Indian-American spouse, Usha Vance (née Chilukuri), while they both attended Yale Law School. The couple later tied the knot in 2014 and now share three children. Usha, 40, is currently pregnant with their fourth child.
News of their pregnancy came months after speculation about Vance’s viral hug with Erika Kirk, 37-year-old widow of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk. Their tight embrace on stage has many convinced that something was going on behind the scenes.
“Because Erica Kirk was busy?” one person joked about why Usha was placed at the end of the photo. Another suggested, “She doesn’t look like Erika nor have the phony swollen Mara Lago look.”
A month after conservative activist Kirk was killed at a TPUSA event in September 2025 in Utah, JD shared a tight hug with Erika while on stage at a TPUSA event in Mississippi.
That embrace between JD and Erika ignited a firestorm of rumors about supposed tension in the Vance household. The drama picked up again at the end of 2025, when Usha was seen in public without her wedding ring.
“Our marriage is as strong as it’s ever been, and I think Usha’s really taken to [being second lady], and it’s been kind of cool to see how she’s developed and evolved in this new role,” JD maintained in a Dec. 4 interview with NBC News.
Usha downplayed the whispers of marital issues in her conversation with USA Today, insisting she and her husband mostly ignore the constant affair chatter that continuously hangs over their marriage.
“I’d rather just sort of live in my marriage and in the real world and less in kind of the fever dreams that surround it. So I mean, it is kind of a family joke, but also not something that I spend very much time thinking about,” she told the outlet in December.
Usha may claim the love is still there for the father of their children, but fans at the 2026 Winter Games opening ceremony mostly had intense vitriol for Vance when his face appeared on the big screen. Boos filled San Siro Stadium in Milan at the sight of America’s vice president.
JD’s online presence is more focused on presenting a united front with Usha. The VP Instagram account has uploaded numerous videos and pictures of the Vances smiling as they cheer on Team USA in Italy.
With Usha and JD expected to welcome a new baby to their family this summer, the pregnancy has been a celebratory shield against some of the accusations of infidelity and behind-the-scenes turmoil. As the U.S. Olympic delegation photo showed, a certain section of the internet still will not let go of the possibility of a Vance breakup on the horizon.
