section_path: Personal life
section_name: Personal life
paragraph_text: Personal life
  
  Gabbard lived in Hawaii for most of her early childhood and has been a lifelong surfer. A yoga enthusiast, she regularly practices morning yoga and meditation. She has mentioned being a vegetarian, though some sources have reported her as a vegan. According to Gabbard, she grew up with Hindu values. She follows the Vaishnava tradition of the Hindu faith, and values as her spiritual guide the Bhagavad Gita. She has also described herself as a Karma Yogi (action-oriented Yogi). She took the oath of office in 2013 with her personal copy of the Bhagavad Gita.
  
  After moving to Washington, D.C., Gabbard lived across the Anacostia River with her sister, Vrindavan, a US Marshal. She has worked on several efforts for military veterans, and also noted being inspired by President John F. Kennedy. Among other activities in D.C., Gabbard has been participating in the celebration of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, along with members from the Hindu American community. In 2016, she supported the campaign by Hindu Americans for a Diwali commemorative stamp in the United States, noting that the Diwali festival honors values such as righteousness "that transcend different religions, and backgrounds."
  
  Gabbard's parents have been associated with the Science of Identity Foundation (SIF), a Vaishnava affiliated organization. When Gabbard's parents moved to Hawaii, they had joined the circle of disciples around the founder of the SIF connected with International Society for Krishna Consciousness, She described the SIF's leader, Chris Butler, as a guide/spiritual leader and "essentially like a Vaishnava Hindu pastor" during her early years. Butler has in return likened her to a star pupil. In 2024, the Trump transition team stated that Gabbard has "no affiliation" with the SIF.
  
  Gabbard's mother became Hindu and gave Sanskrit names to all her children. Gabbard is named after Tulsi, a sacred plant in Hinduism. She has three brothers – Jay, Bhakti, and Aryan – and a sister, Vrindavan. Gabbard has often mentioned that the teachings of selfless action from the Bhagavad Gita motivated her towards social work. Later in 2014, as a Congresswoman, she also presented a copy of the Bhagavad Gita to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the latter's visit to the United States. Gabbard supported the efforts of Modi for declaration of an International Yoga Day by the United Nations.
  
  At the age of 21, in 2002, Gabbard married Eduardo Tamayo. She was deployed to Iraq from 2004 to 2005, serving with the National Guard. Gabbard divorced in 2006, citing "the stresses war places on military spouses and families" as a reason for the divorce.
  
  In 2015, Gabbard married freelance cinematographer and editor Abraham Williams, a Hindu of European and Samoan ancestry and son of her Honolulu office manager, in a traditional Vedic Hindu wedding. While on Meghan McCain's podcast in 2024, Gabbard mentioned that she and Williams had tried to start a family and had undergone several in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures, without success.
  
  Gabbard has also been a presenter at iHeartRadio Honolulu's virtual festival, Island Music Awards 2020. She often greets others with the Aloha salutation, describing it as "I come to you with respect and with love." Having grown up in Hawaii, Gabbard has noted her lifelong appreciation for the Hawaiian culture and its Aloha spirit, which broadly refers to values such as peace, compassion, and pleasantness. Her attorneys said she intends to remain a Hawaii resident.
  
  Gabbard lived in Hawaii for most of her early childhood and has been a lifelong surfer. A yoga enthusiast, she regularly practices morning yoga and meditation. She has mentioned being a vegetarian, though some sources have reported her as a vegan. According to Gabbard, she grew up with Hindu values. She follows the Vaishnava tradition of the Hindu faith, and values as her spiritual guide the Bhagavad Gita. She has also described herself as a Karma Yogi (action-oriented Yogi). She took the oath of office in 2013 with her personal copy of the Bhagavad Gita.
  
  After moving to Washington, D.C., Gabbard lived across the Anacostia River with her sister, Vrindavan, a US Marshal. She has worked on several efforts for military veterans, and also noted being inspired by President John F. Kennedy. Among other activities in D.C., Gabbard has been participating in the celebration of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, along with members from the Hindu American community. In 2016, she supported the campaign by Hindu Americans for a Diwali commemorative stamp in the United States, noting that the Diwali festival honors values such as righteousness "that transcend different religions, and backgrounds."
  
  Gabbard's parents have been associated with the Science of Identity Foundation (SIF), a Vaishnava affiliated organization. When Gabbard's parents moved to Hawaii, they had joined the circle of disciples around the founder of the SIF connected with International Society for Krishna Consciousness, She described the SIF's leader, Chris Butler, as a guide/spiritual leader and "essentially like a Vaishnava Hindu pastor" during her early years. Butler has in return likened her to a star pupil. In 2024, the Trump transition team stated that Gabbard has "no affiliation" with the SIF.
  
  Gabbard's mother became Hindu and gave Sanskrit names to all her children. Gabbard is named after Tulsi, a sacred plant in Hinduism. She has three brothers – Jay, Bhakti, and Aryan – and a sister, Vrindavan. Gabbard has often mentioned that the teachings of selfless action from the Bhagavad Gita motivated her towards social work. Later in 2014, as a Congresswoman, she also presented a copy of the Bhagavad Gita to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the latter's visit to the United States. Gabbard supported the efforts of Modi for declaration of an International Yoga Day by the United Nations.
  
  At the age of 21, in 2002, Gabbard married Eduardo Tamayo. She was deployed to Iraq from 2004 to 2005, serving with the National Guard. Gabbard divorced in 2006, citing "the stresses war places on military spouses and families" as a reason for the divorce.
  
  In 2015, Gabbard married freelance cinematographer and editor Abraham Williams, a Hindu of European and Samoan ancestry and son of her Honolulu office manager, in a traditional Vedic Hindu wedding. While on Meghan McCain's podcast in 2024, Gabbard mentioned that she and Williams had tried to start a family and had undergone several in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures, without success.
  
  Gabbard has also been a presenter at iHeartRadio Honolulu's virtual festival, Island Music Awards 2020. She often greets others with the Aloha salutation, describing it as "I come to you with respect and with love." Having grown up in Hawaii, Gabbard has noted her lifelong appreciation for the Hawaiian culture and its Aloha spirit, which broadly refers to values such as peace, compassion, and pleasantness. Her attorneys said she intends to remain a Hawaii resident.