Erika Kirk has been forced to live through an indescribable series of events these past two and a half months.

Not only was the love of her life and father of her two children assassinated in cold blood on September 10, but she’s had to grieve his loss in plain view of the world, being judged at every turn by people who claim she’s either overdoing her outward projection of grief, or not expressing it enough.

Put plainly, the 37-year-old has been put through an emotional gauntlet the likes of which most of us – thankfully – will never have to experience.

And that’s not at all. Perhaps as a byproduct of her late husband’s fame and the type of controversial content he owed his rise to, not to mention the shocking circumstances surrounding his death, conspiracy theories have been rampant.

These include the idea that Charlie Kirk‘s assassination was steered by unseen hands (existing either at home or abroad) and orchestrated by people with power and influence who wanted to silence the Turning Point USA co-founder for good.

Since Charlie’s passing, Erika has found herself thrust into the spotlight. She appeared before more than 90,000 people at the huge memorial service at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and less than two weeks after Charlie’s passing, Erika had assumed the role of CEO for Turning Point USA.

Given the sheer scale of the media machine focusing on Kirk’s death and its inevitably massive fallout, Erika would have been sensible to expect a deal of attention. What she might not have anticipated, however, was that the wave of bizarre, often unfounded speculation would also envelop her.

Arguably the greatest example of this was when Erika and Vice President JD Vance shared a hug on stage at the University of Mississippi last month.

The embrace drew attention for how long it went on for, as well as the fact that Erika put her hand on the back of Vance’s head. Some online commenters labeled this “inappropriate”.

Readers can decide for themselves whether or not they agree, but so much was made of the hug that Erika herself has now clarified exactly what she whispered to the VP, as well as explaining why the embrace was so long.

Appearing in an onstage interview with Megyn Kelly for the Megyn Kelly Live event on Saturday (November 22), Erika said: “My love language is touch, if you will … So I will give you a play-by-play. They just played the emotional video. I’m walking over, he’s walking over. I’m starting to cry.”

She also revealed what Vance had said to her: “He says, ‘I’m so proud of you.’ And I say, ‘God bless you,’ and I touch the back of his head.”

She continued: “Anyone whom I have hugged that I have touched the back of your head when I hug you, I always say, God bless you.”

Kelly joked back: “They were acting like you touched the back of his a**!”

Erika replied: “I feel like I wouldn’t get as much hate if I did that!”

What did you make of the Erika Kirk/JD Vance hug? Let us know in the comments.