Madly in love with Usha, why JD Vance learned Indian cooking from her mother

US Vice President JD Vance and her wife, Usha Bala Chilukuri, received a warm and enthusiastic welcome during their four-day visit to India that concluded on Thursday, April 24. Usha, the daughter of Radhakrishna Chilukuri and Lakshmi Chilukuri, who migrated to the USA from India decades back, received a 'celebrity' treatment in India, in the land of her roots. “She’s a bit of a celebrity, it turns out, in India. I think more so than her husband,” Vance said in Jaipur about his wife.

The couple visited Akshardham Temple in New Delhi and went on sightseeing tours across Jaipur and Agra. In Jaipur, they explored the historic Amer Fort, while in Agra, they visited the Taj Mahal and the traditional crafts village of Shilpgram.

A very special love story

JD Vance and Usha, who came together from different backgrounds, shared a deep connection from the word go. The daughter of Telugu Indian immigrants and the son of a drug-addicted mother met at Yale University and despite their different backgrounds and personalities, started to bond well, first as friends.

At the university, Usha guided JD about the subtle aspects of being at an elite institution. In his bestselling 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, JD Vance called his wife a 'spirit guide' and how she helped him adjust to life at the top law college. Enamoured by her, he called her a “genetic anomaly, a combination of every positive quality a human being should have.”

Chilukuri and Vance married in 2014 in Kentucky, in an interfaith marriage ceremony. Their life took a turn when Vance was elected a Senate from Ohio in 2022. During the 2024 presidential campaign at the Republican National Convention, Usha lovingly introduced her husband as a meat and potatoes guy, who also cooks Indian food for her. She noted that her husband learned how to cook Indian food from her mother.

Why JD learned Indian cooking from Usha's mother

"When JD met me, he approached our differences with curiosity and enthusiasm. He wanted to know everything about me, where I came from, what my life had been like. Although he’s a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy, he adapted to my vegetarian diet and learned to cook food from my mother, Indian food. Before I knew it, he’d become an integral part of my family, a person I could not imagine living without," she said during her RNC speech.

An experimental cook

In an interview, Usha said Vance was an experimental cook and would cook anything from chana masala to dessert, to various lamb dishes.

Vance, too, is in love with his wife's cooking skills. In a podcast with Joe Rogan, he raved about Indian food, calling lab meats 'highly processed garbage'. He shared how his wife makes really delicious Indian food and recommended "paneer and rice and delicious chickpeas" to all vegetarians.

Vance has admitted that his association with Usha influenced his life deeply. She not only brought him closer to his religion but also instilled in him a deeper appreciation for family, tradition, and the values of hard work and perseverance that shaped both their lives.

Their connection and chemistry is palpable, making people in search of their life partners hopeful about finding a bond that’s equally authentic, effortless, and deeply fulfilling.