'I Had a Terrible Temper': J.D. Vance Admits He Was 'Not a Good Boyfriend' to Wife Usha and Struggled With 'Attachment Problems'
J.D. Vance spoke out about past emotional struggles he worked through while dating his wife, Usha.
June 23 2026, Published 1:50 p.m. ET
J.D. Vance admitted that he was a terrible boyfriend to his wife, Usha, revealing he repeatedly threatened to end the relationship while they were both students at Yale Law School, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The 41-year-old made the confession during his current promotional tour for his new memoir, Communion, about his decision in 2019 to convert to Catholicism.
J.D. Vance Confessed to Having a Bad 'Temper'
J.D. Vance said he had 'attachment problems' from his turbulent childhood.
"The woman who is the second lady, she and I were dating. I was not a very good boyfriend," the veep confessed to author Allie Beth Stuckey on her Relatable podcast.
"I had a terrible temper. I had, in hindsight, what people would have called attachment problems," he continued, referring to his turbulent childhood growing up in Appalachia, raised primarily by his grandmother due to his mother's drug addiction issues.
"We'd have an argument, and I'd be like, 'Alright, see you later. You know, call me in a few days,'" J.D. confessed, admitting his emotional immaturity at the time left him unable to handle conflict in a healthy way and often led him to pull away from Usha rather than work through their problems together.
J.D. Vance Dreamed of Being a 'Good Husband' During Trying Times
J.D. Vance revealed he knew he wanted to marry Usha while they were still dating in law school.
J.D. picked himself out of poverty to join the Marines shortly after graduating from high school. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree in political science and philosophy in 2009 from Ohio State University before being accepted into Yale's prestigious law school.
The Hillbilly Elegy author said that despite his many achievements, he eventually realized the thing he wanted most was a future and a family with Usha, but first he had to confront and change the unhealthy emotional habits that were threatening to push her away.
"I started thinking to myself, 'Wait a second. All of this success that I've geared my life towards is not making me good at the thing that I care the most about, which is marrying this girl, being a good husband, being a good father," he explained.
Usha Vance Helped Her Husband Work Though His Issues
J.D. Vance detailed how he had problems adjusting to life at Yale Law School, which Usha helped him work through.
The former Ohio senator revealed he often felt like an outsider among his Yale classmates, but credited Usha with helping him find his footing.
"I remember having this this sort of conversation with Usha when we were dating where I said, 'You know what? As much as this is the most prestigious and the hardest to get into school, I had way more interesting conversations with my classmates at Ohio State or in high school than I do with my classmates at Yale," he told Stuckey.
"And she actually said, 'I agree with you.' ... And she said, 'I was a Yale undergrad, which was way more interesting than Yale law school.'"
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Inside J.D. and Usha Vance's Life Today
Usha Vance beamed at her husband when he was sworn in as Vice President in January 2025.
The couple worked through their problems and married in June 2014, a year after earning their Juris Doctor degrees from Yale Law School.
J.D. and Usha welcomed their first child, Ewan, in 2017, followed by the birth of a second son, Vivek, in 2020.
The duo added a daughter to their family when Usha gave birth to Mirabel Rose in December 2021, and she's currently pregnant with their fourth child, a boy, who is due in late July.
