JD Vance says he was ‘obsessed’ with Usha while dating another woman in college

WASHINGTON, DC: Long before stepping into the political spotlight, JD Vance was navigating a whirlwind college love life that felt straight out of a Hollywood drama.

The vice president made a few confessions about his love life in his upcoming book ‘Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith,’ where he admitted to how he became “obsessed” with his wife, Usha, while dating someone else in college.

Vance shared an excerpt of his book, which talks about his conversion to Catholicism, with USA Today for Mother’s Day on Sunday, announcing the exclusive on social media.

“This is a particularly special Mother's Day in the Vance clan, as Usha is about to become a mom for the fourth time,” the vice president wrote on X.

“We thought it would be fun to put out a little excerpt from my new book about the early days of our relationship. To all the moms out there, but especially to Usha: Happy Mother's Day!” he continued.

JD Vance recalls thinking about Usha while dating another woman

In the excerpt of his book, Vance remembered that during his college time, he was dating a girl named Mary, who was “sweet, smart, and she wanted the same things out of life that I did: a nice house, a decent job, and a couple of kids. My family got along with her fine.”

He admitted that despite liking Mary, he never felt deeply attached to the relationship and believed he would have moved on quickly if it had ended, unlike the intense heartbreak his friend Mike experienced after his breakup with Jessica.

The Yale Law graduate writes that he told his friend, “I don’t think I have that gene or something,” referring to the idea of falling “head over heels for a girl.”

Another storm in his relationship with Mary came when he became “obsessed” with his future wife, Usha, while still dating Mary.

“A few months after that conversation, I was still dating Mary – now long distance, from New Haven, Connecticut, where I was a couple of months into my first year of law school,” Vance wrote.

“I was walking late at night on an unusually cold and rainy fall day. New Haven is spooky in the fog, and the rain had emptied out the streets. And the whole time I was thinking about another student: Usha Bala Chilukuri,” he continued.

Describing Usha as “smarter than everyone,” and that she had “the most amazing posture," Vance revealed that he broke up with Mary not just because of the long distance between them, but that he “couldn’t imagine settling for anyone else” than his current wife.

“‘I will marry this girl,’ I told my friends. ‘Or I will be a lifelong bachelor,’” Vance wrote.

JD Vance’s new book explores his conversion to Catholicism

JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, has drawn criticism over aspects of his renewed religious identity.

His upcoming book chronicling his spiritual journey from atheism to faith notably features a United Methodist church on the cover instead of a traditional Catholic cathedral, despite Vance having no known ties to the Methodist congregation.

Perhaps most strikingly, the Catholic convert has defended President Donald Trump as tensions intensified between the administration and Pope Leo XIV over the pontiff’s criticism of Trump’s actions in the Iran conflict.

Vance told the leader of the Roman Catholic Church last month to “be careful” when discussing theology and that the pontiff’s comments need to be “anchored in the truth.”