“Vance announces divorce, marries Charlie Kirk’s widow”- New York Times author’s claims go viral amidst Erika Kirk’s onstage controversy

Late political activist Charlie Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk, and US Vice President JD Vance have been trending since they appeared together on October 29, 2025. The duo attended an event at the University of Mississippi.

However, the interaction created headlines as multiple photos and videos of the moment went viral. One of them shows Erika and Vance hugging each other, with the former putting her hand on JD Vance’s head. The New York Times author Shannon Watts reshared the photo through her official handle on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, October 31, and wrote:

“Vance announces divorce, marries Charlie Kirk’s widow by the end of 2026.”

As of this writing, Vance or Erica has not reacted to Shannon’s post. On the other hand, Watts has also restricted the comments section of her post to those people that she has been following on the social media platform.

The theory behind the divorce emerged from JD Vance’s comments during the event. According to First Post, Vance was questioned by someone from the audience about his faith, following which he said that he hopes that his wife, Usha Vance, will be influenced by something from the church like him.

“I honestly do wish that because I believe in the Christian Gospel, and I hope eventually my wife comes to see it the same way,” JD added.

Vance’s comments also landed him in criticism. While responding to the question, JD also said that he and Usha always had an open conversation in terms of how to raise their kids since they belong to different religions. However, he clarified that Usha has been accompanying him to the church.

JD Vance responds to the criticism emerging from his comments at the university

As previously mentioned, netizens have been reacting to JD’s words on different platforms. Apart from the general public, certain other personalities have also responded, with Hindu American Foundation’s executive director Suhag Shukla saying that Vance is not a “pastor in chief”, adding that he is a Vice President aiming to become the President.

While the backlash has continued, JD Vance replied to a comment on X on October 31, 2025, which has now been deleted. He initially described the response as “disgusting”, adding that it was his responsibility to reply to a question since he is a “public figure.”

JD clarified that the question was associated with his interfaith marriage and added:

“My Christian faith tells me the Gospel is true and is good for human beings. My wife--as I said at the TPUSA--is the most amazing blessing I have in my life. She herself encouraged me to reengage with my faith many years ago. She is not a Christian and has no plans to convert.”

However, JD Vance also mentioned that he still expects his wife to see things from his point of view. He wrote that he would not stop loving and supporting Usha, and they would continue to have conversations related to faith and other topics. Towards the end, JD criticized the reply, as he continued:

“Posts like this wreak of anti-Christian bigotry. Yes, Christians have beliefs. And yes, those beliefs have many consequences, one of which is that we want to share them with other people. That is a completely normal thing, and anyone who’s telling you otherwise has an agenda.”

According to People magazine, JD and Usha tied the knot in 2014 and are the parents of three children, Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel.