Additional Coverage:
Second Lady Usha Vance Sparks Speculation After Appearing Without Wedding Ring
Public discussion concerning the marital status of Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, escalated this week after photographs surfaced showing Usha Vance without her wedding band during a public address in North Carolina.
The Second Lady, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, visited Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River on Wednesday. During her address to service members and their families ahead of the holiday season, observant social media users quickly noted the absence of a wedding ring on her left hand in images taken behind the podium.
In response to the ensuing online chatter, Usha Vance clarified that she “is a mother of three young children, who does a lot of dishes, gives lots of baths, and forgets about her ring sometimes.”
This incident follows earlier rumors regarding the couple’s relationship, which intensified last month after the Vice President was photographed embracing Erika Kirk at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi. During the interaction, it appeared Vance’s hands were on Kirk’s hips while she ran her fingers through his hair.
Daily Mail columnist Lisa Kennedy Montgomery, a former Fox News commentator, suggested that Usha Vance’s decision to appear without her ring might have been a deliberate message rather than an oversight. Kennedy wrote, “A little thing like a forgotten ring can go an awfully long way in reminding a clumsy husband how precious and irreplaceable his wife truly is.
Usha has now seen the uproar a tiny omission can stir.” She characterized the act as an intentional, albeit “not the most efficient vehicle for the Holy Spirit,” form of public humiliation for her husband, adding, “Try a little tenderness, JD.
And if that fails – who knows, perhaps the next message Usha sends will be a little less quiet and a lot more interesting.”
However, body language expert Judi James, after reviewing footage of the appearance, expressed doubt that the move was intentional. James questioned, “Would Usha Vance, an elegant, intelligent, and very enthusiastic-looking woman with a ten-year marriage and three children tucked under her belt, really choose a high-profile solo outing with Melania to coyly drop a visual hint to the world about the state of her marriage in the style of a Z-list celebrity trying to kick-start rumors and press attention?”
James described the act as “unlikely and way too inelegant a move for Usha,” stating that “leaving your wedding ring off deliberately as an announcement ritual tends to be the act of immature celebs who want to prove something to their husbands or wives after some kind of a hiccup.” She concluded, “Usha’s appearance here shows her emerging as a very competent ‘Second’ Lady in her own right, so the idea that she would do so while deliberately teasing her marital status would surely be unthinkable.”