Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade Have Been Together for 10 Years—But It Wasn’t Love At First Sight

From Prevention

When you dream about finding your lifelong partner, you may picture that fairytale, love-at-first-sight situation comparable to Rose Dewitt and Jack Dawson in the Titanic. But in reality, your soulmate can be the unlikely candidate that you almost pass up.

For Gabrielle Union, 46, and Dwyane Wade, 37, their love story mimics the latter. Upon their first encounter back in 2006, Union wasn’t entirely convinced that Wade was worth her time due to his rocky relationship, stereotypical career, and “younger” age.

“When I met Dwyane, his résumé looked like crap: athlete, going through a divorce, nine years younger than me,” the America’s Got Talent judge told Glamour in an interview. “None of that screamed, ‘Let’s have a lasting relationship.’ Then, after I had a heart-crushing breakup with yet another immature jerk [Chris Howard], I thought, it can’t be any worse if I date a fetus.”

Luckily, she gave that “fetus” a chance, and 13 years later, their relationship has blossomed into one of the most beautiful ones around, earning them the title of “relationship goals” in our opinion. Plus, they brought baby Kaavia James into the world, and that alone is enough to crown them king and queen of life.

As the adorable couple celebrates their five-year wedding anniversary this August, here’s exactly how Union and Wade’s relationship has grown throughout the years, plus some other facts about their history that you may not have known.

1. Union and Wade met at a Super Bowl event in 2006.

If you’re wondering what the chances are that these two would be named co-hosts for a Super Bowl party at in 2006 … same. And those chances are slim. But low and behold, Wade and Union hosted the event together, marking their first encounter.

Was it love at first sight? No. In fact, Wade was still married to his high school sweetheart Siohvaughn Funches—but not for much longer. Wade filed for divorce from Funches in June 2007 after five years together. At the time that they parted, they had just welcomed their son Zion into the world. They also had an older son, 17-year-old Zaire Wade.

Union was still working through her own relationship problems. In 2006, the AGT judge had just officially divorced her ex-husband, former NFL star Chris Howard, after a five-year marriage.

2. They had their first public outing in 2010.

Whether the couple was still working through their previous relationships, or Union was trying to decide if Wade was worthy of her love, the two didn’t make their first public debut together until July 2010 at the Summer Groove Charity event.

Walking hand-in-hand with beaming smiles, the hot new couple instantly became the talk of the night, although it wasn’t the first time they made headlines for being an item. Two months prior, Wade’s ex Funches opened up about their split on The Dr. Phil Show, and even sued Union for “emotional distress” in May 2010.

It didn’t break Union and Wade up, though. The court dismissed the case, and Wade and Funches’s divorce was officially finalized in June 2010. Wade also filed for legal custody over Zaire and Zion in 2010, and one year later, a Chicago court awarded him sole custody of the boys.

3. They took things slow due to their previous relationships.

With Wade’s divorce highlighted all over the internet, it’s no wonder the two wanted to keep their blossoming relationship to themselves. They also wanted to take things slow. In February 2012, the stars finally opened up about their love for each other in a joint interview with Essence, and even posed on the stunning cover of the issue.

“We’re not rushing it,” Wade told the outlet. “Both of us have been married before, and we understand that if we choose to marry again, we want it to be right. We both took failing marriage hard. The next time it’s gotta be forever.”

So the couple went on to take things slow, but they started to make appearances in public as an item. In June 2012, Union supported her man at the NBA finals, where his team (the Miami Heat) beat the Oklahoma City Thunder to take home gold.

4. They split up briefly the same year they became engaged.

The year 2013 was filled with lows and highs for the power couple. Wade and Union temporarily separated in January 2013 due to some challenges with long distance.

“When you’re debating whether to go backward or forward, you have to look at the original issue,” Union told Glamour, speaking about their split. “It was because of the distance and scheduling. I finished filming [Being Mary Jane], then I flew to Vegas right away to start shooting Think Like A Man Too. I couldn’t take time off, and I missed some quality togetherness we desperately needed.”

After “reassessing priorities” over the summer in 2013, Union told the outlet that she decided to make sure her work schedule made sense for her family so she could spend more time with her beau.

The couple was able to salvage their relationship after some work, and in December 2013, Wade proposed to Union right before Christmas. Because he felt so confidently about welcoming Union into his family, he had each of his sons propose to Union also, having each one ask, “Will you marry us?”

5. Wade and Union tie the knot in August 2014.

Of course, Union said "yes" to Wade, and the couple had a beautiful wedding ceremony in Miami. The celebration was filled with friends and family, and the couple looked insanely happy on their big day.

Union posted an Instagram of the wedding along with a heartfelt caption about the special day. “Every day I think there’s no way I can love you any more than I did the day before, but I fall deeper in love with you each morning,” she wrote in the post. “Thank you for your belief that we were both capable of evolution and committing to be your best self for our family.”

6. The couple tries for a baby, with a devastating result.

In 2017, Union released a memoir where she opened up about suffering “eight of nine miscarriages” due to fertility issues. “We had done about three IVFs at this point, and it implanted two embryos,” she told O, The Oprah Magazine. “We get the pregnancy test. We’re very excited. We get the positive results… It was the best few days I ever had in life.”

But then, Union went back for additional testing and learned that she lost her babies. "For lots of people/families who have been on their own unique fertility/family creation journey, hope can feel like a cruel joke that plays on repeat," she wrote in an emotional Instagram post.

"You stop letting yourself get excited and you dont dare utter any updates. You carry it all. It can feel isolating and depressing," she continued. "You wonder if you are defective. You are not. You wonder if you are worthy. You are. You feel you feel you feeeeeel. You are not alone. You are loved and worthy and every feeling is real and understood."

7. Union and Wade welcome baby Kaavia.

Fortunately, Union and Wade were able to expand their family via surrogate. They welcomed Kaavia James into the world on November 7, 2018, and she literally could not be any cuter.

“We are sleepless and delirious but so excited to share that our miracle baby arrived last night via surrogate and 11/7 will forever be etched into our hearts as the most loveliest of all the lovely days,” Union wrote in an Instagram caption from 2018. “Welcome to the party sweet girl!”

And yes, Union, Wade, and Kaavia’s life, in fact, looks like a party.

8. Their estimated net worth is $140 million.

Today, Union, Wade, and Kaavia live in Los Angeles, and Union currently serves as a judge on America’s Got Talent. Previously starring in a number of top-rated films and shows like Bring It On and Being Mary Jane, Union’s estimated net worth is around $20 million.

Wade retired from the NBA this past April 2019, although his estimated net worth should be enough to cover him throughout their family’s lifetime—and probably the next few lifetimes. According to Cheat Sheet, Wade has an estimated net worth of $120 million, bringing their collective net worth to $140 million.

9. The family travels on epic ‘Wade World Tour’ vacations each summer.

As hard as the couple has worked to earn their insanely high net worth, it’s no surprise that they spend it well. In 2017, Union and Wade began their annual Wade World Tour vacations, where they lavishly explore beautiful destinations around the world.

Most recently, the duo pulled together a crew of their close friends and baby Kaavia, and hit up the Amalfi Coast in Italy. As you can imagine, Union shared details of the luxe trip on her Instagram, and we were here for every single bikini photo and makeup-less selfie she offered.

The true star of the trip, of course, was Kaavia, who often matched her mommy on their beach and boat days.

10. Union and Wade celebrated their five-year wedding anniversary on August 30.

Despite a rocky start and some hesitations about tying the knot forever, Union and Wade have developed such a special relationship filled with love and happiness, even though Union has remained open about their challenges.

“People are like ‘goals’; me and D are like, ‘WTF,’” she told Ebony. “We kind of figured it out now, but I guess maybe we should tweet live from couples’ therapy.”

Regardless, the two will celebrate a huge milestone—their five-year wedding anniversary—on August 30, and we couldn’t be happier for them. We wish them nothing but the best going forward!

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