Who is Bev Vance? Meet Republican Vice President Candidate JD Vance’s Mother

Bev Vance is the mother of JD Vance, a junior US senator from Ohio and the Republican vice president candidate. Besides being the mother of the American politician, she was also a nurse, but she struggled with substance abuse most of her career.

Early Life and Education

Bev Vance was born Beverly Vance in 1961 to James Vance and Bonnie Blanton. Little is known about her early childhood, but she had a normal childhood like any child. When Bev came of age, she began her elementary education, after which she proceeded to high school. After completing high school, she joined college, where she pursued nursing.

Love Life

In her lifetime, Bev Vance has been married at least five times. Her marriage to JD Vance’s father, Donald Bowman, ended when JD was six. In her first marriage to Donald Bowman, the couple had two children: a daughter named Lindsay, and then JD Vance was born in 1984. In 1990, the couple divorced, and Bev had to find someone JD would look up to as a father figure.

She then married Bob Hamel, who changed Vance’s name but maintained the “JD” nickname. The relationship did not last long, and Bev jumped into another relationship; this was hard for Vance, and he wished his father was around. In his memoir, Bev Vance’s son notes that one of the toughest things was the change of names, and it was made even tougher every time a father figure left his life.

Bev was an Addict

While working as a nurse, Bev had access to all the medications she needed, and as such, she became an addict. She would pick a few prescription medications from the hospital and use them for her recreational purposes; this went on for a while, leading to her arrest. In his memoir, JD recalls the day that his mother was arrested, but he says that it was the best day of his life. He was lucky to have not been arrested together with his mother, but he was also put under the custody of his grandparents.

Bev Abuses Her Son

Given that she was a substance abuser, this led Bev to do crazy things. One day, while in a car with her son, JD Vance, she was driving at over a hundred miles per hour. She kept telling her son that she was going to kill both of them. Bev then slowed down and was reaching for a lace so that she could beat JD, but then he used the opportunity to escape from the car to a neighbor’s compound.

Following this incident, police officers were called; she was arrested, and JD was placed under the custody of his maternal grandmothers. In his memoir and various events, Bev’s son has mentioned the important role his grandparents have played in his life.

Her Relationship With Her Son

JD Vance may not love his mother as much as his grandparents, but he adores her. Despite how she treated him when he was young, they have reconciled, and he has mentioned his mother severally in his campaigns.