Who is JD Vance's wife Usha? Second lady's pregnancy announced
Former Democrat has been "sounding board" for JD Vance since their days at Yale
Usha Vance has confirmed she is expecting her fourth child with her husband JD, Donald Trump’s right hand man.
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The Office of the Vice President announced on Tuesday that the 40-year-old is “doing well” and confirmed the child will be a boy, expected in late July.
The Vances have an inter-racial and inter-faith relationship and a backstory worthy of a Hollywood film, with Freida Pinto and Gabriel Basso playing Usha and JD respectively in Hillbilly Elegy.
"We’re very happy to share some exciting news. Our family is growing!" the second lady of the United States tweeted.
Here is what you need to know about Usha Vance.
Who is Usha Vance?
Usha Vance, 40, is the wife of US vice president JD Vance, 41, and mother of their three children; sons, Ewan, eight and Vivek, five, and a daughter, four-year-old Mirabel.
The couple married in 2014 after meeting when studying at Harvard Law School in 2013.
One of her college classmates said of her: "She was an excellent student, like, top of our law school class.
"And sometimes when students are like that, they also, you know, want to maintain an edge over other students.
"But she was someone who would always share her outlines [class notes]. They were, like, perfectly organised, you know, colour-coded, the works."
Ms Vance, nee Usha Chilukuri, went on to work as a lawyer and advocate but has dedicated her time to being second lady of the United States since her husband’s election alongside Mr Trump in 2024.
What is Usha Vance’s religion and background?
Ms Vance was born to Telugu Brahmin Indian migrants, Lakshmi and Radhakrishna Chilukuri.
A Hindu, she is raising her children in an interfaith marriage alongside her husband, who is a Catholic.
Mr Vance has said that the couple were not religious when they met, but that he had embraced faith in his thirties and that he now wishes that she converts to Catholicism.
“As I’ve told her, and as I’ve said publicly, and as I’ll say now in front of 10,000 of my closest friends: do I hope, eventually, that she is somehow moved by the same thing I was moved by in church? Yes,” he said last year at a Turning Point rally.
“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.
“But if she doesn’t, God says that everybody has free will, so that doesn’t cause a problem with me. That’s something that you work out with your friends, your family, the person you love most.”
He added that the pair are raising their children within Christian tradition and that they are aware that Usha is practicing Hinduism.
Mr Vance has also said that his wife has a more patient method of parenting and that he is more likely to give them a firm talking to.
What are Usha Vance’s political views?
Ms Vance was registered as a Democratic voter for the 2014 primaries, but had, by 2017, switched to become an Independent.
As of 2022, she has been a fully-fledged Republican, although if she holds strong views, these are not often heard in public.
She has not been seen wearing a Make America Great Again hat and, on social media, her feed consists of reposts of her husband’s content and messages for holidays.
That said, while she may not be conservative by background, she is considered to have been a key influence in the rise of JD's political rise.
"She's always like a sounding board for him," an insider told the BBC. "And, you know, she's been his spirit guide pretty much since Yale."
A healthy marriage? Rumours of a divorce unpacked
Ms Vance is set to become only the second “SLOTUS” (second lady of the United States) to give birth while in office and the first since 1870.
News of their pregnancy appeared to silence rumours of their marriage being in a bad place, following Ms Vance being photographed without her ring in recent weeks.
The vice president has said ring was absent in photos because his wife takes it off to do domestic chores.
He told an interview in December that he laughed at a rumour that he was preparing to divorce Usha to marry Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika.
These rumours had been sparked by a tweet from New York Times reporter Shannon Watts, made in prediction of the change of union - following Mr Vance hugging Ms Kirk on stage.
The suggestion is thought to have been made in jest and is without substance.