The Most Awkward Moments Between Usha And JD Vance
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Sometimes, Usha and JD Vance act as if they have done nothing to fuel the rampant rumors that their marriage is on the rocks. We all remember when the second lady sent the divorce chatter into overdrive by ditching her wedding ring while attending an event in November 2025. Only days before that appearance, the vice president had sent tongues wagging by embracing Erika Kirk at a Turning Point USA event. So, naturally, people began to think that the missing engagement ring signaled trouble in paradise. However, the second lady's rep quickly laid those rumors to rest, telling People that she would often forget to put the wedding ring back on after tending to their three kids or doing household chores. Still, it was a weird time for that happen.
During Usha's chat with USA Today in December 2025, she echoed a similar sentiment, adding that she did not wear her engagement and wedding rings while working out and bathing. The SLOTUS went on to claim that she and her husband took a lighthearted approach to the unsavory gossip, saying, "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." Despite all her insistence that everything was just fine, a matchmaker told us that there are plenty of red flags in Usha and JD Vance's marriage. And the issues in their union only become more obvious when we look at how awkward they act around each other in public, despite being married since 2014.
JD and Usha Vance's dance at the inaugural ball left people cringing
After watching Melania and Donald Trump awkwardly shuffle around the floor of the Liberty Ball in January 2025, we thought it couldn't get worse. And then, Usha and JD Vance walked onto the stage. As the second couple slow-danced, they tried making small talk in an apparent attempt to make the moment more romantic. However, it seemed as though they couldn't get across to each other, and they ultimately sealed the awkwardness with a kiss.
After viewing the cringeworthy display, body language expert Nicole Moore shared some thoughts with our sister site Nicki Swift. "The couple is dancing stiffly with a lot of space in between their bodies and chests, which may indicate a desire to keep distance between them," she professed. Moreover, she believed that the kiss didn't exactly paint the picture of a couple happily in love. "When the couple does kiss, it's a short, perfunctory kiss, almost as if they're kissing because they have to rather than because they want to," Moore said. Hey, at least Usha Vance was wearing one of her best outfits during that cringey moment.
Unfortunately, the performative PDA didn't end there. For some bizarre reason, romance was in the air when Usha and JD attended Pope Leo XIV's inaugural mass in May 2025. And the second couple couldn't resist sharing a kiss right in front of the cameras.
The Vances have left an empty seat between them more than once
Usha and JD Vance have not just appeared distant through subtle body language cues, but also the glaring physical space between them. For instance, it was nearly impossible to notice that the vice president and his wife had left an empty chair between them while attending a FIFA Club World Cup 2025 match in June. Granted, the chair may have been reserved for their kids. But that didn't change the fact that photos from the event showed a disconnect between them.
In fact, the second lady looked quite sad as she gazed emptily at her drink and possibly longed for the days when her life was less chaotic. Their icy behavior at the event gave us flashbacks to the time they attended a Good Friday mass in Vatican City in April 2025. Even back then, a chair had created a physical distance between them. After viewing photos from the event, Nicole Moore informed our sister site The List that even Usha and JD's body language showed a glaring disconnect.
Alessandra Benedetti – Corbis/Getty
"Her body language is communicating a desire to distance herself from JD," the body language expert explained. "Usha has pursed, tight lips, indicating discomfort or emotional upset and her posture is tense." As Moore pointed out, it didn't seem like the physical distance between the couple was enough to put the SLOTUS at ease, as she had even leaned away from her husband throughout the ceremony. Unfortunately, Usha Vance was also caught in one of her most outdated outfits at the event.
JD Vance's cringeworthy jokes might have made his wife uncomfortable
For some reason, JD Vance felt the need to unveil his odd marital dynamics with Usha Vance while speaking to a crowd in Michigan in March 2025. "Here's the thing," the vice president began while his wife stood right behind him, as seen in an X post. "The cameras are all on; anything I say, no matter how crazy, she has to smile, laugh, and celebrate it." We watched the "Hillbilly Elegy" author's words ring true in real-time, as his wife mustered a pained smile to make it seem like his awkward joke had landed.
However, Usha's grin wasn't enough to convince social media commentators that she had a happy marriage, as one X user pointed out that she looked "miserable" by her husband's side. We previously saw Usha put on a similar show around JD's jokes while they were visiting Walter Reed in November 2025. After a serviceman threw a medicine ball at the VP to riff with him, he joked, "Somebody call the secret service on this guy."
A service member at Walter Reed tosses a medicine ball to Vice President JD Vance.
His response was hilarious 🤣
"Somebody call the Secret Service on this guy."
pic.twitter.com/6jc198un2g— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 10, 2025
After analyzing the clip, Nicole Moore informed The List that Usha's smile wasn't enough to hide the "potential discomfort" that her body language conveyed following the medicine ball catch. The body language expert pointed out that the former lawyer had moved away from her husband and had moved her arms in front of herself, adding, "Her body is trying to distance herself from her husband or create some sort of protection from him by creating physical space in between them." Maybe she was trying to escape the cringe like the rest of us.
JD and Usha Vance's social media behavior has left eyebrows raised
Usha Vance wasn't on JD Vance's mind when Mother's Day 2025 rolled around. On the important day, the former Ohio senator took to X to write an impersonal message that didn't so much as mention the mother of his three kids: "Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. We love you and are grateful for you!" What made that snub even more awkward is the fact that Usha publicly praised her hubby on Father's Day only a month later.
Additionally, Usha's Instagram post was also far warmer than her husband's, as it showed several photos of him tending to their children and the caption detailed his plans to spend quality time with them. Meanwhile, JD's weird shoutout to Usha on their anniversary had us wondering if a snub would have been more romantic. While delivering a speech at Donald Trump's military parade in June 2025, he thanked the troops for their services, wished the president a happy birthday, and awkwardly jammed their anniversary in the mix at the end.
"But I would get in trouble if I didn't mention that it's also my wedding anniversary. And so to my lovely wife, I love you, honey. Happy anniversary and thank you for everything that you do for your country," JD said (via YouTube). The VP could have, of course, also appreciated his wife on a personal level and completely avoided the "joke" about getting into trouble. Unfortunately, even JD's birthday post for Usha in January 2026 seemed like an impersonal headline from an X news account: "Happy Birthday to my darling Usha, who turns 40 today!"
JD Vance's religion comments likely made things awkward behind closed doors
During an October 2024 chat with the New York Post, JD Vance admitted that he felt "terrible" that Usha Vance had to accompany him and their kids to church every Sunday since she wasn't a Catholic. He also acknowledged she hadn't exactly agreed to be married to a Catholic either, since he had only converted after they had started dating. However, when the topic of their interfaith household came up during a Turning Point USA event in October 2025, the vice president shared a vastly different sentiment.
He proclaimed that although his wife was Hindu, she did not have a "particularly religious family." Then, he shared a wish that he had also expressed to Usha, stating, "Do I hope, eventually, that she is somehow moved by the same thing I was moved by in church?" JD said (via YouTube). "Yes. I honestly do wish that, because I believe in the Christian gospel and I hope that eventually my wife comes to see it the same way."
However, he insisted that Usha's religious choices wouldn't impact their marriage in the slightest. What made his public proclamation awkward is that Usha had told "Citizen McCain" host Meghan McCain in June 2025 that she was "not intending to convert." Moreover, the second lady also revealed that her children had remained connected to their Hindu roots through her parents and her grandmother, who practiced Hinduism. Her account naturally left people to wonder how well he knew his wife. While JD makes us cringe with his words, Usha Vance leaves us scratching our heads with her outfit choices.
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