Usha Vance offers rare insight into the ‘challenges’ of parenting alongside Vice President JD

Usha Vance has candidly detailed the ‘challenges’ of parenting alongside husband JD Vance.

The 39-year-old, who shares three kids with the Vice President – Ewan, seven, Vivek, five, and Mirabel, three, opened up about the realities of family life in an interview with Fox News to mark Mother’s Day.

The Second Lady explained: ‘The balancing act today is sometimes easier than it was when I was working full-time in the private sector because I have more control over my schedule and do not feel pulled in as many directions.

‘That said, raising children in the public eye poses new challenges.’ 

Ivy League-educated litigator Usha, who previously worked at a top Washington, D.C., law firm and clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts, continued: ‘While I certainly miss working, I am grateful that I have the time to ensure that our home life is as normal and stable as possible.’

In a nod to her own mom, Lakshmi Chilukuri, she reflected: ‘My mom does not often give direct advice, but I’ve learned from her example in countless ways.

‘One of her gifts as a parent is always making me feel like I have her full attention, no matter how busy she might be, and I’ve tried very hard to make my children feel the same way.’ 

Usha and her family took part in a military moms’ Mother’s Day celebration on Thursday at the White House alongside both Donald and Melania Trump.

But offering a rare glimpse into the Vance household this Sunday, she told the outlet: ‘We will have a quiet day, with a family hike and dessert baked by JD…

‘My kids made me presents at preschool, but they were too excited to wait until Mother’s Day, so we opened them early.’

It comes after Usha broke her silence about her new life as Second Lady of the United States, revealing what it was like to be part of the MAGA political uprising to re-elect Donald Trump.

‘Obviously, our lives are not normal, and it feels almost absurd to say that they are,’ she said in an interview with The Free Press writer Peter Savodnik.

Savodnik questioned her about the new MAGA world she had joined, where the majority of women are blonde, with ‘low-cut blouses and nine-inch heels.’

‘People don’t seem to care all that much what I look like,’ Usha replied laughing.

‘I’m laughing, because it would be really hard for me to be blonde … that color would look totally absurd.’

After the Inauguration the internet buzzed over Usha’s hair, noting she was allowing it to go grey.

But she said she felt welcome in Trump’s political revolution.

‘For what it’s worth, my reception into this world — and I’m not from a particularly wealthy background, not from a very fashion-oriented background personally or professionally — has been really positive,’ she said. 

Usha and JD first met while they were both students at Yale Law School in 2013.

In his book Hillbilly Elegy, which was also made into a Ron Howard-directed film, the VP describes Usha as his ‘Yale spirit guide.’

They married one year out of law school in 2014 and had their first child, Ewan Blaine, in 2017.

They also have a second son, Vivek, and welcomed a daughter, Mirabel, in December 2021. The couple are raising their three children in Cincinnati.