JD Vance's mother Beverly once threatened to crash car and 'kill' them both in fit of rage
MIDDLETOWN, OHIO: JD Vance, former president Donald Trump's vice presidential pick, has a life story rooted in the Appalachian communities of Ohio. Raised under challenging circumstances, Vance's early years were marked by a strained relationship with his parents.
His mother, Beverly Vance, gave birth to his sister Lindsay in 1979 at the age of 19. Five years later, on August 2, 1984, Beverly and Donald Bowman welcomed JD into the world.
JD Vance's family struggles
During JD's early years, his father, Donald Bowman, abandoned the family, leaving JD and Lindsay in the care of their mother. Beverly struggled with substance abuse, which often led to abusive behavior. The instability resulted in JD being placed in the care of his maternal grandparents, James and Bonnie Vance.
The grandparents, who were Union Democrats, played a crucial role in JD's upbringing. Reflecting on their impact, JD mentioned in his 2022 Senate victory speech, "You’re not always going to agree with every vote that I take, and you’re not going to agree with every single amendment that I offer in the United States Senate, but I will never forget the woman who raised me,” paying homage to his grandmother.
JD detailed his tumultuous childhood in his 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, which was later adapted into a film starring Amy Adams as Beverly and Glenn Close as Bonnie.
Born in Middleton, Ohio, Vance grew up alongside his older half-sister Lindsay Lewis Ratliff. Despite the hardships, their difficult childhood forged a strong bond between the siblings. In a 2017 interview with NBC News, Lindsay expressed her deep affection for her brother, saying, "I would die for that kid. And I know he would, too."
Absent fathers and maternal instability
Lindsay's father, Beverly's first husband, was largely absent by the time JD was born. Beverly's instability escalated when she attempted suicide by crashing her car into a telephone pole. After her release from the hospital, her behavior became more erratic, involving nights out with strangers and violent outbursts at home.
JD's father, Donald Bowman, stayed for six years before abandoning the family, leading to his divorce from Beverly. Despite two failed marriages, Beverly continued to seek love, marrying five times in total.
JD's memoir reveals that Beverly's third husband, Bob Hamel, adopted him and changed his name from James Donald Bowman to James David Hamel. Hamel intended to erase any trace of JD's biological father. Reflecting on this period, JD wrote, "Of all the things I hated about my childhood, nothing compared to the revolving door of father figures."
Beverly's struggle with substance abuse further complicated JD and Lindsay's lives. Working as a nurse, Beverly had easy access to prescription drugs, which exacerbated her addiction. Her addiction led to her arrest, a moment JD described as both a relief and a heartbreak.
In a 2017 NBC News interview, he recounted the experience: "In that moment I just felt relieved and I thought to myself, 'Alright I'm going to live another day.'" However, it wasn't long before he felt loneliness and fear, sitting in the back of a police cruiser after his mother's arrest.
As JD and Lindsay grew older, Beverly eventually became sober, achieving ten years of sobriety by the time of the Republican National Convention. Despite her sobriety, the painful memories of their childhood lingered.
A harrowing experience: The potential car crash
One particularly harrowing experience that JD recounted involved a trip he took with his mother, Beverly. This incident was supposed to be a reconciliation trip, a chance for them to bond and make up for past difficulties.
However, the trip quickly turned into a nightmare. JD vividly recalls this traumatic event in his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, and in interviews, highlighting the profound impact it had on him. JD told NPR, "And it was supposed to be a big makeup trip. But what happened is that something ignited her temper while we were together."
Beverly, in a fit of rage, began speeding down the highway. JD recounted, "She sped up the car on the highway. Went over—you know, it seemed at the time like she was driving over 100 mph. And she just kept on saying, 'I'm going to crash this car and kill us both.'"
Terrified for his life, JD moved to the backseat of the car, hoping to escape his mother’s wrath. However, this only seemed to fuel Beverly’s anger further. She eventually slowed down the car, but not out of concern for their safety. Instead, she did so to reach into the backseat and physically assault JD.
In Hillbilly Elegy, he writes about how he managed to survive this brush with death, but it wasn’t without lasting emotional scars. JD was able to escape the car and ran to a neighbor's house, where the police were called.
JD Vance's grandparents' influence
Ultimately, JD found stability with his grandparents, who he described as "without question or qualification, the best things that ever happened to me." During his teenage years, his father briefly reentered his life but did not approve of JD's taste in music, which included bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.
"When we first reconnected, he made it clear that he didn’t care for my taste in classic rock, especially Led Zeppelin,” JD wrote in his memoir. "He just advised that I listened to Christian rock instead."
As an adult, JD Vance underwent a spiritual transformation, embracing Catholicism and getting baptized at the age of 35 in 2019, according to People.
