JD Vance Reveals How His Hindu Wife, Usha Chilukuri, Helped Strengthen His Catholic Faith

Ohio Senator JD Vance continues to rise in the political arena, becoming Donald Trump's Vice-President candidate in the 2024 US elections. Over several interviews, Vance has repeatedly revealed that his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, has been guiding him through significant personal and professional milestones, including the strengthening of his Catholic faith.

The Republican senator from Ohio was raised as a Protestant but began seriously considering converting to Catholicism by 2016. This journey culminated in 2019 when he was baptised and confirmed in a ceremony at St Gertrude Priory in Cincinnati, Ohio, as The American Conservative magazine reported. Vance often states that Catholic theology profoundly influences his political views.

JD Vance on His Wife's Role in His Faith Journey

In a recent interview with Fox News, Vance shared how his wife Usha, who was raised Hindu, encouraged and supported him in his search for his Christian faith. In the interview, Vance said, "I was never baptised. I was raised Christian but never baptised. I was first baptised in 2018. Usha was raised non-Christian. She is actually not Christian. But I remember when I started to re-engage with my faith, Usha was very supportive."

The interviewer then asked Usha why she was so supportive. She explained, "I did grow up in a religious household. My parents are Hindu. That is one of the reasons why they made such good parents. That made them very good people. And I think I have seen the power of that in my own life. And I knew that JD was searching for something. This just felt right for him."

When asked how they would merge their faiths to raise their children, Usha revealed that there were several things that they agreed on with regards to parenting "and (that) the answer really is, we just talk a lot," she concluded.

Usha's Background and Career

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Before becoming influential in her husband's political and personal life, Usha Chilukuri Vance already had an impressive background. The couple met at Yale Law School in the 2010s, where they organised a discussion group on "social decline in white America," as noted by The New York Times. They quickly bonded, with Vance referring to his then-classmate as his "Yale spirit guide." They married in 2014, a year after graduating from Yale Law School.

Together, they have three children: two sons, Ewan and Vivek, and a daughter named Mirabel. Though they are private about family life, the Vances have been seen together at various political events. Usha notably supported Vance during his political campaign for Ohio's Senate seat in 2022, where he won the Republican nomination after being endorsed by former President Donald Trump and defeated Democratic nominee Tim Ryan in the general election.

Professionally, Usha Vance is a litigator in the San Francisco and Washington, D.C., Munger, Tolles & Olson offices. According to her company profile, her practice focuses on complex civil litigation and appeals across various sectors, including higher education, local government, entertainment, and technology. She has also clerked for Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Judge Amul Thapar.