What JD And Usha Vance's First Time Meeting Was Like

Whether you love Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance or can't stand him, there's no denying that the story of how he met his wife, Usha Vance, is a sweet one. The two attended Yale Law School together and got to know each other better when they collaborated on an assignment — and the rest is history. J.D. made a good first impression on Usha, who later told NBC News that she admired his dedication to his studies. "He was very diligent. He would show up at these 9 a.m. appointments that I set for us to start working on the brief together," Usha shared, with the Ohio senator adding that he knew being late meant she'd kick him to the curb. One of J.D. and Usha's law professors, Amy Chua, admitted that although there was clearly a spark between them, she found it an "extremely unlikely" pairing since, "[They're] almost opposites in personality." 

And yet, in his bestselling memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy," J.D. recalled how Chua encouraged his relationship with Usha and actually helped them stick together after the future VP candidate almost accepted a federal clerkship, which would've resulted in the couple maintaining a long-distance relationship. "Amy's advice stopped me from making a life-altering decision. It prevented me from moving a thousand miles away from the person I eventually married," J.D. wrote, adding that his professor made him realize it was "okay to put a girl above some shortsighted ambition." It's safe to say he doesn't regret that decision. 

One of the biggest rumors about J.D. Vance's love life is that he was married twice before tying the knot with Usha Vance, but these claims have since been proven false, and rightly so. J.D. was in love with Usha from the moment he set eyes on her in law school. In fact, Amy Chua revealed to NBC News that the controversial vice presidential nominee once told her that he knew Usha was his soulmate the moment they first met. "He describes it as a lightning bolt, and I saw that. I've never seen anybody so starstruck. It was love at first sight," she shared.

In "Hillbilly Elegy," J.D. described his first meeting with Usha in a similar manner, writing, "As I began to think a bit more deeply about my own identity, I fell hard for a classmate of mine named Usha." This was before the two got assigned a project that required them to work together much more closely. He gushed, "She seemed some sort of genetic anomaly, a combination of every positive quality a human being should have: Bright, hardworking, tall, and beautiful."

J.D.'s friends made fun of him when they noticed how smitten he was but the Ohio senator finally plucked up the courage to ask Usha on a date as the academic year came to a close. He only made it through one date before confessing his love. "It violated every rule of modern dating I'd learned as a young man, but I didn't care," J.D. reasoned. Luckily, it didn't scare Usha off, and they got married in 2014, one short year after both parties graduated from Yale.