The Tragic Story Of JD Vance And His Sister Lindsay's Childhood

This article contains mentions of drug abuse.

Ahead of the 2024 Republican National Convention, Donald Trump made the highly anticipated announcement as to who would be his running mate. Trump revealed on Truth Social that his controversial pick for vice president would be none other than Ohio Republican senator, J.D. Vance. He wrote, "After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio." After the announcement, Vance's life become the interest of many.

Before he became the politician many know today, Vance was just a small-town boy. He was born in Middleton, Ohio and grew up alongside his older half-sister, Lindsay Lewis Ratliff. Although J.D. and Lindsay seem to be thriving today, it was a long and tough road to get there. The brother-sister duo had a troubled childhood with many tragic moments. The only good thing that seemed to come out of these difficult moments was that it made the brother-sister duo incredibly close. Speaking of her little brother in 2017 to NBC News, Lindsay shared, "I would die for that kid. And I know he would, too." J.D. and Lindsay have been able to overcome many obstacles, and we're going to look at some of them as we dive into their past.

J.D. Vance and Lindsay grew up without having a stable father-figure. There aren't many details about Lindsay's father, beside the fact that he was the first husband of their mom, Beverly Vance. But by the time that J.D. was born it seemed like he was already out of the picture.

As for J.D.'s father, we have a bit more details about who he was. According to People, J.D. was born to Beverly and Donald Bowman in 1984. Bowman stuck with J.D. and Lindsay for six years before abandoning the kids by walking out the door. He and Beverly ended up divorcing, but despite two failed marriages, Beverly never gave up on love and married a whopping five times. J.D. even revealed in his memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy" (via People) that her third husband, Bob Hamel, adopted the Ohio Senator and made him change his name from James Donald Bowman to James David Hamel. Beverly's third husband wanted J.D. to get rid of any trace of his father and that included his name.

After Hamel, Beverly would go on to marry two more times, and J.D. recalled this being one of the worst parts of his and his sister's childhood in "Hillbilly Elegy." He wrote, "Of all the things I hated about my childhood, nothing compared to the revolving door of father figures."

Not only did J.D. Vance and Lindsay not have a stable father figure, but their mom also struggled with substance abuse. People reports that Beverly Vance worked as a nurse and therefore had easy access to prescription drugs. Throughout their childhood, Beverly struggled with drug abuse, and at one point, she even ended up getting arrested.

The Ohio Senator recalled the terrifying moment in an interview with NBC News in 2017, revealing he was initially thankful that his mother got arrested. He shared, "In that moment I just felt relieved and I thought to myself, 'Alright I'm going to live another day.'" But after the feeling of relief subsided, he was more terrified than anything else. He explained, "I was just really sad and felt very lonely because I'm sitting in the back of this police cruiser, they just arrested my mom, the relief of having survived another day was gone and then I just wanted someone to come and take me away."

Eventually as J.D and Lindsay got older; Beverly became sober. The potential vice president revealed that his mom was 10 years sober at the Republican National Convention, but it certainly doesn't get rid of the terrible childhood memories that came with her drug abuse.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Throughout his mom's struggle with drug abuse, J.D. and Lindsay Vance had to go through a lot of troubling situations. But in J.D.'s eyes, one of the most terrifying moments happened when he and his mom, Beverly Vance, took a trip together. J.D. told NPR, "And it was supposed to be a big makeup trip. But what happened is that something ignited her temper while we were together." The fun adventure quickly turned into a nightmare as Beverly threatened to crash the car. He continued, "She sped up the car on the highway. Went over — you know, it seemed at the time like she was driving over 100 mph. And she just kept on saying, I'm going to crash this car and kill us both. I'm going to crash this car and kill us both." Terrified, J.D. hopped in the backseat, but this only made Beverly even angrier.

He recalled in his memoir, "Hillybilly Elegy" (via People) that Beverly wound up slowing down, and J.D. survived the brush with death, but he wasn't all in the clear. She slowed down the car so she could reach in the backseat and hit him. J.D. was eventually able to get out of the car and run to a neighbor's home, who ended up calling the police. The scary moment has stuck with the Ohio senator and just shows how tragic his childhood truly was.

The car incident between J.D. Vance and his mother Beverly Vance changed his life forever. J.D. recalled to NPR that after he was taken to the police following the terrifying situation, he was given two options. He explained, "And I was effectively given a choice between — keep talking, and we're going to have to file charges, and we're going to have to take you out of the home — on the one hand. Or if you just keep quiet about things, then you can stay living with your family." As shocking as it may seem, J.D. kept quiet but he had his reasons for doing so. The Ohio Senator was confident that his grandma, Bonnie Blaton Vance, would step up to the plate — and she did.

After the scary car incident, J.D. moved in with his grandparents and couldn't be happier about the situation. Sharing in his memoir, "Hillybilly Elegy" via People, J.D. said the move was "without question or qualification, the best thing that ever happened to me." As sad as it may seem, the politician had a better relationship with his grandmother, and some of her legendary looks. He shared with NBC News in 2017, "She understood when I needed somebody to ride me. She knew when I needed love and comfort. She knew when she needed to just be sympathetic. She was really smart."

Lindsay was five years older than her half-brother, J.D. Vance. So when she had the chance to leave her mom and that world behind — she took it. However, even though she was able to escape the unstable home, she felt bad that she left J.D. to fend for his own. After reading his memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy," it took Lindsay back to those terrible times and how she wish she could have done something for her and her brother. She told NBC News, "[After reading the memoir] I just felt so sorry for those kids, and why didn't I see more of him. I don't know I should have been able to do more." 

But J.D. holds no resentment toward Lindsay for this. He shared with NBC News, "We've talked a lot about that and I just don't think that Lindsay should feel guilty at all about it. She had found her way and I was looking for my way out." Now that she's older, Lindsay isn't planning on letting anything hurt J.D. She told Dayton Daily News, "The kid has never done wrong in my eyes. J.D. has a part of my soul that nobody will ever have and I'll protect him until the day I die." So, while they can never erase what happened in their childhood, moving forward, they will always have each other's back.