Vice President JD Vance and Erika Kirk Seem Friendly These Days — Have They Ever Dated?

On Sept. 10, 2025, rightwing podcaster Charlie Kirk was killed while speaking in front of a university audience. Charlie was an oft-controversial but foundational member of the right influencer sphere. He left behind a wife, Erika Kirk, two young children, and a booming organization known as Turning Point USA.

Since his passing, Erika has done anything but sit idle.

She has appeared at multiple TPUSA events and has been an omnipresent figure in Washington, D.C. alongside President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. But after some oddly intimate embraces on stage between Vance and Erika led people to speculate about their relationship, it begs the question: have the two ever dated in the past?

Here's what we know about their romantic (or platonic) past.

Erika and JD have been seen in public together, and their on-stage embraces have sparked some rumors. But is there any truth to the suggestion that they have a romantic history together?

As far as we can tell, no.

Rumors of JD and Erika having an affair are unsubstantiated, as are rumors that the two used to date. According to Snopes, most evidence for either case seems to come from intentionally doctored clips or clips that leave out context to make the two friends seem like, well, more than friends.

As far as we are aware, there is no official proof that JD and Erika dated in the past or are romantically involved these days, even if the internet seems to think otherwise.

So, why then are the rumors so persistent? It could be, in part, due to Erika's apparent bizarre way of hugging people. She was first criticized for a bizarre on-stage hug with Trump in September 2025. In this instance, she tucked her head on his shoulder and then seemed to scoot towards him in an awkward gesture that set tongues (and fingers) wagging online.

And then came the hug with JD Vance.

Erika seemed to give an emotional introduction to JD during a TPUSA event, and then dashed across the stage to all but leap into his arms. She placed her hand on the back of his head, and JD briefly placed his hands on her hips.

It was an unusual hug, but Erika seemed to be starting to make a pattern of such unusual hugs.

Erika and her odd hugs again surfaced with country star Jason Aldean during a Nov. 11, 2025, event. In this case, she again seemed to give an overly friendly and lengthy hug to the married singer.

Taken out of context, it seems bizarre.

But maybe Erika is just a really weird hugger. The evidence seems to support it. And even though the internet wants to assign ulterior motives to her hugs, her repeated on-stage behavior does suggest that she's maybe just not the most intuitive hugger.