JD & Usha Vance's Phony Attempt At Flirting Isn't Passing The Sniff Test

Love was in the air for JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, at the U.S. Marine Corps' 250th anniversary celebration over the weekend! The couple seemed to be in unusually high spirits, smiling and holding hands throughout the day's festivities at Camp Pendleton in California. JD, who is the first U.S. Marine to serve as vice president, delivered a 30-minute speech honoring the Corps' legacy and those who had served. Later, he shared some highlights from the event on Instagram, including a photo of him and Usha clasping hands as they exited a military plane, and another of the SLOTUS leaning into him and smiling midflight. How romantic! 

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At one point, the VPOTUS was seen whispering something into Usha's ear as she listened intently while photographers snapped away. Either they've found their way back to one another or they've just gotten really good at flirting in front of the cameras — since 2024, the Vances have been fending off whispers that their marriage is in deep trouble. Both have given sly clues that the rocky marriage rumors aren't total B.S.; in September, just weeks before their recent PDA-filled outing, JD accidentally implied the spark between him and Usha may have fizzled out. "It used to be, you know, go to a local bar in Cincinnati and hang out," JD said of their date nights during an appearance on "The Katie Miller Podcast." "Now it's like, make a cocktail at home and sit outside on the porch." Hmm.... 

There's also a hint of disconnect in their body language. "They seem to be a bit rocky right now," Susan Trombetti, a matchmaker and CEO of Exclusive Matchmaking, exclusively told us. "It's hard because of public life, pressure, work, and children." 

At this point, it seems that no matter how hard JD and Usha Vance try to convince the world that their marriage is fine, the divorce chatter simply refuses to go away. And if anything, their obvious attempts at flirting only seem to make things worse and keep the rumor mill spinning. For instance, their awkward PDA at Pope Leo XIV's inaugural mass (which had us hiding in the pews from secondhand embarrassment) did little to quell the rumors. "'Ok now we need to kiss to make it seem like im an actual human,'" an X user replied to a photo of the two kissing. Another wrote, "She has a strong stomach. Or she is paid very well."

"Genuine kisses often involve softer body language as one partner melts their body into the other. When a kiss is forced, the body almost always gives signals of the underlying tension," Nicole Moore, a celebrity love coach and body language expert, told us. Looking at an old snap of JD and Usha from 2022, in which the SLOTUS gave him a peck on the cheek right after they cast their ballots, Moore said there's not much warmth or chemistry between the two, despite what the photo might suggest. Whereas Usha leans forward expectantly, JD looks completely disengaged — he barely acknowledged the kiss at all and kept his body turned away from Usha.

As with most of their public interactions, Moore said it's highly likely that the Vances' cringe kiss was staged. "It appears as if this particular kiss may have been for the cameras and their relationship is in a neutral zone, where there's not a ton of positive feelings but not a ton of negative feelings either," Moore noted. In conclusion, she added, "This kiss gives friendly-married-but-roommates vibes, rather than passionate-lovers vibes." Ouch.