Usha Vance addresses divorce rumours after being spotted without her wedding ring

Usha Vance has addressed speculation about her marriage after being spotted at a public event without her wedding ring.

Usha, 39, tied the knot with United States Vice President JD Vance, 41, back in 2014. Together, the couple of over 10 years share three children: Ewan, eight, Vivek, five, and three-year-old Mirabel.

Rumours regarding the pair's marriage status resurfaced last week (19 November) when Usha was seen on an outing with First Lady Melania Trump at Camp Lejeune, a military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

The second lady did not don her wedding ring during the appearance, leading many to rush to social media to share their confusion after catching light of the photos snapped during the event.

JD and Usha Vance have been married since 2014 and share three children together (Chesnot/Getty Images)

"Interesting. Usha Vance minus a wedding ring yesterday at Camp Lejeune," penned one X user.

A second chimed in: "As the Second Lady of the United States, you don’t forget your wedding ring. You just don’t. It’s literally the only reason you have that title."

And a third X user quipped: "Yikes."

A spokesperson for Usha has since issued a public statement on the matter following the online speculation.

Addressing the ringless outing, they told PEOPLE that Usha, who is very private and rarely speaks with press, is 'a mother of three young children, who does a lot of dishes, gives lots of baths, and forgets her ring sometimes'.

Despite the statement, it seems many people still seem suspicious, with one X user writing: "I’m a mother of 2 & I have never taken my rings off in my 20yrs of marriage & I have bathed children & done dishes during that time..."

Another out: "They don’t have a dishwashing machine? Give me a break."

"Usha Vance does dishes?? Really? As the Second Lady? What she sends the entire staff home after dinner? Does all the cooking and the laundry too? Come on man," echoed another.

Usha was spotted without her wedding ring during an outing last week (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

And a final X user slammed: "For f**ks sake, they could have just said it was being repaired or professionally cleaned or something. No one would have thought twice after that. Women do that with their wedding rings all the time."

Rumours about marriage tensions between Usha and JD picked up speed after a clip of the VP hugging Erika Kirk swept across the internet in late October, after she had stepped into her late husband Charlie's role at Turning Point USA just a matter of weeks after his death (10 September).

During a stop at the University of Mississippi, Erika opened the programme and said she noticed 'similarities' between Charlie and JD as she brought the latter onstage.

"No one will ever replace my husband. But I do see some similarities of my husband in JD — in Vice President JD Vance. I do. And that's why I am so blessed to be able to introduce him tonight," she said at the event, which took place last month (29 October).

The moment ended with a long embrace that quickly turned viral with Erika wrapping JD in a close hug, holding the back of his head and, for a brief second, his hands rested on her waist.

The exchange caught viewers off guard with many sharing their hot takes on slowed-down clips, hand placement theories, lip reader speculation and debates over whether the hug felt fitting so soon after her loss.