Vice President JD Vance’s love story with Usha Bala Chilukuri is one for the ages — and it all started with curiosity, culture, and a lot of heart.
A warm homecoming to India
JD Vance and his wife Usha Bala Chilukuri recently completed a four-day visit to India, where they were welcomed with open arms — but it was Usha who stole the spotlight.
The daughter of Indian immigrants, Usha was treated like a celebrity during their travels across Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra.
Vance himself joked:
“She’s a bit of a celebrity, it turns out, in India. I think more so than her husband.”
The couple visited iconic landmarks like the Akshardham Temple, the Amer Fort, and the breathtaking Taj Mahal, blending sightseeing with heartfelt moments honoring Usha’s roots.
From Yale classmates to soulmates
Their love story began at Yale Law School, where two very different worlds collided — and instantly connected.
Usha, raised in a deeply traditional Indian-American household, helped Vance, the son of a struggling Appalachian family, navigate the elite world of Ivy League academia.
In his bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy, Vance described Usha as his “spirit guide,” calling her:
“A genetic anomaly — a combination of every positive quality a human being should have.”
Their bond only deepened over time.
In 2014, they tied the knot in an interfaith ceremony in Kentucky, blending their faiths and traditions into one life together.
Cooking up love — and Indian recipes
One of the sweetest parts of their relationship?
Vance didn’t just embrace Usha’s culture — he dove right in, even learning to cook Indian food from her mother.
“Although he’s a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy, he adapted to my vegetarian diet and learned to cook Indian food,“ Usha shared during her heartfelt speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
From chana masala to lamb dishes, Vance became an experimental home chef, blending flavors from Usha’s family kitchen into their shared life.
In a candid podcast appearance with Joe Rogan, Vance raved about Indian cuisine, calling paneer, rice, and chickpeas “delicious“ and joking that lab-grown meats were “highly processed garbage“ compared to real homemade meals.
A connection built on curiosity and respect
For Vance, marrying Usha wasn’t just about love — it was about embracing everything she stood for.
Her influence, he admits, brought him closer to faith, family, and a deeper appreciation of hard work and tradition.
Their visible chemistry — from campaign speeches to international visits — shows a relationship built on authenticity, mutual respect, and an open heart for each other’s worlds.
As Usha put it best:
“Before I knew it, he’d become an integral part of my family — a person I could not imagine living without.”
