JD Vance says his marriage with Usha is 'as strong as it's ever been'

Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance have found humor in the cottage industry of online speculation that has sprouted up around their marriage.

WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance have found humor in the cottage industry of online speculation that has sprouted up around their marriage.

“I think that we kind of get a kick out of it,” Vance said Thursday in an interview with NBC News when he was asked whether he was frustrated over a recent rash of tabloid-style headlines about the second lady being spotted without her wedding ring.

“With anything in life, you take the good with the bad,” Vance added as he sat in his West Wing office, where photos of him and Usha Vance and their children line the tables around his desk. “You accept that there are some sacrifices and there are some very good things that come along with it, too. But our marriage is as strong as it’s ever been, and I think Usha’s really taken to it, and it’s been kind of cool to see how she’s developed and evolved in this new role.”

The gossip mill migrated from social media to the Daily Mail, People and other publications last month after Usha Vance was photographed with a ringless ring finger during a visit to a military base with first lady Melania Trump. A spokesperson for the second lady explained to both outlets that she is “a mother of three young children, who does a lot of dishes, gives lots of baths, and forgets her ring sometimes.”

The vice president weighed in on the spectacle with NBC News on Thursday when he was asked whether stories like that had been tough on the couple, who married in 2014.