The Journey from Friendship to Marriage
Their paths continued to intertwine, leading them from friendship to love. Vance, in his book Hillbilly Elegy, describes his initial feelings for Usha as intense. He recalls, “I thought about her constantly. One friend described me as ‘heartsick’ and another told me he had never seen me like this.” After discovering Usha was single, he quickly asked her out, leading to a relationship that blossomed steadily.
Navigating personal differences and social challenges, Usha helped JD adapt to environments that he found unfamiliar. At one point, however, Vance’s inability to handle relationship stress tested their bond. He writes about an incident where he stormed out of a hotel room after an unsuccessful interview, only to later apologize sincerely. Reflecting on Usha’s reaction, he said, “She calmly told me through her tears that it was never acceptable to run away.”
A Strong Partnership in Life and Politics
JD and Usha married in 2014, and their intercultural relationship proved to be a supportive foundation for both. Usha shared during her introduction of JD at the Republican National Convention, “That JD and I could meet, let alone fall in love and marry, is testament to this great country.” She described JD, a “meat and potatoes guy,” who learned to embrace her vegetarian diet and even cook Indian food for her mother.
This unique partnership has now brought them to one of the highest platforms in the U.S., as JD, a venture capitalist and author, is set to take on the role of Vice President-elect.