INDIAN AMERICAN Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has shared a personal story about his wife Apoorva's miscarriage at an event in Iowa.
"I haven’t spoken publicly about the loss of Apoorva and my first child—it’s difficult for us to talk about it. Apoorva and I draw strength from our faith in God and are so blessed to be the parents to our two sons Karthik and Arjun," Ramaswamy wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"We got married in 2015. I was building my first company, and Apoorva was working 80 plus hours. We told everyone about the good news. We shared the news with our family members and celebrated with our friends. We started writing letters to our future child every day," he said.
"But, about three-and-a-half months in, she had a miscarriage, and we lost our first child. She was probably one of the most upbeat, strong, and positive people you will meet. She went into a state of depression after that. Our faith is what got us through this."
Despite the loss, a few years later, the couple experienced joy when doctors discovered a heartbeat, indicating the existence of their next child, Karthik. Ramaswamy, along with Florida governor Ron DeSantis, shared these intimate family stories at the Family Leader Thanksgiving Family Forum, connecting with voters on a personal level.
Ramaswamy and Apoorva recently shared how they met and fell in love. He took to X and posted a video in which the two of them are seen narrating their love story.
Apoorva said that they met at a college party, and "he was not that interested."
In the video, Apoorva said, "I was in my first week of med school, and Vivek was a law student there. It was a party, probably the last party I went to. I saw Vivek there, and he seemed the most interesting person in the room. So, I went up and introduced myself to him." The crowd laughed hearing this. She further added that when Vivek introduced himself, she "unfortunately" told him that she met another Vivek in medical school.
"He was not that interested; he actually walked away," Apoorva added. "Later that night, we ran into each other again. We realized how much we have in common, how much we shared, and the fact that we were neighbors. Here we are, we've been together ever since," she added.
Ramaswamy also spoke candidly about his Hindu faith, asserting that it was what led him to the presidential campaign.
He added that if elected, he would promote values that are not exclusive to one religion and make faith, family, hard work, patriotism 'cool' again in the US.
The 38-year-old tech entrepreneur opened up to the Christian audience about his Hindu faith and spoke about how it has instilled values in him that are similar to Christianity.
“My faith is what gives me my freedom…my faith is what led me to this presidential campaign actually,” he said.
“I am a Hindu. I believe that God is true. God has sent us here for a purpose. It is our duty to realize the purpose of God. It is our moral duty. The core of our religion is that God resides in all of us,” he said.
“Those are God’s instruments that work through us in different ways, but we are still equal because God resides in each of us. That’s the core of my faith.”
He further said that it is because of his upbringing that he has developed a respect for family, marriage, and parents.
“I grew up in a traditional household. My parents taught me family is the foundation. Respect your parents. Marriage is sacred. Abstinence before marriage is the way to go. Adultery is wrong. Marriage is between a man and a woman. Divorce is not just some preference you opt for…you get married before God and you make an oath to God and your family,” Ramaswamy said.
Ramaswamy also drew parallels between Hinduism and Christianity.
“I went to Christian High School. What do we learn? We learned the 10 commandments. We read the Bible. Scriptures class. God is real. There is one true God. Don’t take his name in vain. Respect your parents. Don’t lie. Don’t steal. Don’t commit adultery. What I learned at that time is that these values are familiar to me,” he said.
He said these values don’t belong to Hindus and they don’t belong to Christians either.
“They belong to God actually. And I think these are the values that undergird this country,” Ramaswamy said.
“Can I be a President who can promote Christianity across the country? I can’t…I don’t think that’s what we should want a US President to do either…but will I stand for those shared values? Will I promote them in the examples that we set for the next generations? You are damn right, I will! Because that’s my duty.”
He added, "One of the teachings is that we don’t choose who God chooses to work through. That’s not our choice, that belongs to God…so yes are founded on Judai-Christian values and these are values that I deeply share….as a president, it is my duty to make faith and family and hard work and patriotism, but faith includes, cool again in this country for the next generation."
(with inputs from PTI)
Bob Blackman MP speaks during the event