Gabrielle Union Says Dwyane Wade's Relationship Resume Was 'Crap' When They Met

From Women's Health

Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade have been churning out some prime Instagram content lately. Not only are they locking it down at home during #PandemicLife, but the two have also created an Instagram account for their adorable toddler, Kaavia James.

Basically, Gabrielle, 47, and Dwyane, 38, are the most swoon-worthy couple on the planet. But it hasn't always been smooth sailing for the actress and NBA player. The couple has stayed together for years through divorces, breakups, and even fertility issues.

Seems like a pretty solid, uh, union right? Here's everything you need to know about Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade's relationship, from the very beginning.

2007: Gabrielle and Dwyane meet at a Super Bowl party.

Both hired by promoters to host a Super Bowl party, the pair met professionally while Dwyane was still married to his ex Siohvaughn Funches, whom he filed for divorce from four months later. (Around the same time, rumors began to heat up that the NBA star was secretly dating Union.)

Gabrielle, on the other hand, had just divorced her ex, NFL running back Chris Howard, a year earlier, and was cautious about Dwyane. "When I met Dwayne, his résumé looked like crap: athlete, going through a divorce, nine years younger than me," Gabrielle told Glamour in 2014. "None of that screamed, 'Let's have a lasting relationship.'

Still, they didn't really talk at the event. "I stayed on one side of the room with my people," Gabrielle told Essence. "We like to party and he doesn't drink at all. He was on the other side of the room holding bible study."

2010: Dwyane's divorce gets ugly, and Gabrielle attends his annual charity event as his guest.

Gabrielle attended Dwyane's "Summer Groove" charity event in Miami, which benefitted Dwayne's Wade’s World Foundation. They were photographed together, and speculation that they were a couple continued, though the two had yet to confirm anything publicly.

Gabrielle and Dwyane's appearance together also led Dwyane's ex, Siohvaughn, to start hitting Dwyane and Gabrielle with lawsuits. Siohvaughn sued Gabrielle for "emotional distress," per the Boston Herald, but the case was dismissed.

"I fought it [the lawsuit]," said Gabrielle in a 2012 Jet cover story. "My life is just too easy to track. So, we were submitting plenty of proof for the times she said I was in Miami. So, it was like, obviously you’re not telling the truth. And then the courts dismissed the case."

January 2012: The couple appear on an Essence magazine cover together, making it extra official.

Gabrielle and Dwyane appeared together on the cover of the February 2012 issue of Essence magazine, where they open up about the possibility of marriage.

"We’re not rushing it," said Dwyane. "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 at marriage hard. The next time it’s gotta be forever."

January 2013: Gabrielle and Dwyane break up.

"Distance and scheduling" led to a temporary breakup for for Gabrielle and Dwyane in 2013.

"When you're debating whether to go backward or forward, you have to look at the original issue," she said in Glamour. "[When Dwyane and I broke up briefly in 2013], it was because of distance and scheduling. I finished filming the show, 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."

During the split, Dwyane fathered a baby boy with an actress named Aja Metoyer, according to E! Online.

December 2013: Dwyane proposes to Gabrielle with the help of his sons.

"The boys had been pushing for us to be a 'real' family," Gabrielle told Oprah during the interview special, Oprah at Home with Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade & Their New Baby, so when it was time for Dwyane to propose, he asked the boys to help with the question.

"I had them down by the pool, and I had them make their own signs," Dwyane said. "I had each one say, 'Will you marry us?'" he described during the special.

August 2014: Gabriele and Dwyane get married

On August 30, 2014, the couple got married at the Chateau Artisan in Miami, a literal castle surrounded by a moat.

Gabrielle wore a stunning white strapless gown, and Dwyane wore a white suit coat and black pants—a classic spin on a tuxedo. Dwyane's two sons and nephew were included in his wedding party, and guests included Gabrielle's costars from Being Mary Jane, along with Dwyane's former NBA teammates and other celebrities.

According to ABC News, the couple spent their honeymoon in the Maldives.

October 2017: Gabrielle reveals she's suffered from "eight or nine miscarriages."

In her memoir, We're Going To Need More Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, and True, Gabrielle revealed how much she had struggled with her fertility in the past.

“For three years, my body has been a prisoner of trying to get pregnant,” she wrote in her book. "I’ve either been about to go into an IVF cycle, in the middle of an IVF cycle, or coming out of an IVF cycle.”

Gabrielle also revealed that the cause of her infertility turned out to be adenomyosis, a condition that affects a woman’s uterus, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and is similar to endometoriosis, which occurs when endometrial tissue grows outside of the uterus.

November 2018: Kaavia James is born via surrogate.

On November 7, Gabrielle and Dwyane welcomed their daughter Kaavia James Union Wade via surrogate—much to the surprise of literally everyone.

In their interview with Oprah, Gabrielle and Dwyane opened up about what they want Kaavia to know for her future: "We want her [Kaavia] to understand that she was so loved, wanted, desired, protected, and nurtured when she was just a thought," Gabrielle shared. "We want her to know everything it took to bring her into this world, usually around the time she starts talking back. We want her to really understand what we went through. Luckily, she'll have this special."

January 2020: Gabrielle and Dwyane star in a commercial together.

Gabrielle and Dwyane even showed off their team workout skills in an ad for Gatorade Zero that was released in January 2020. If you watch TV, you know the ad: They do a bunch of exercises together before drinking Gatorade Zero. “Ready for more?” Dwayne asks. “Bring it on,” Gabrielle says, before cooly strolling away.

February 2020: Gabrielle and Dwyane introduce the world to Zaya.

During a visit to the Ellen Degeneres Show, Dwyane told the talk show host about how his daughter Zaya came out as transgender. "Zaya, our 12-year-old, came home—I don’t know if everyone knows, originally named Zion; Zion, born as a boy—came home and said, ‘Hey, so I want to talk to you guys. I think going forward, and I’m ready to live my truth. And I want to be referenced as she and her. I’d love for you guys to call me Zaya,’” Dwyane said.

Both Gabrielle and Dwyane shared plenty of messages of love and support for Zaya on social media.

June 2020: Gabrielle files a discrimination suit against America’s Got Talent.

As you probably remember, Gabrielle was a judge on AGT, and things didn’t end well. She filed a discrimination complaint against America’s Got Talent judge and creator Simon Cowell, along with NBCUniversal and production companies Fremantle and Syco Entertainment.

In the suit, she citied a “toxic” work environment during her experience as a judge. (NBC, Fremantle, and Syco denied the allegations.) Gabrielle told Women’s Health that dozens of people reached out to her with their own stories of issues in the entertainment industry. “All of these people came through the door,” she said. Gabrielle says that made her wonder, “How do I create a larger movement to address all this trauma and all this harm? I can’t just swallow the information I now have.”

August 2020: Gabrielle and Dwyane send their oldest son to college.

Dwyane shared a sweet and emotional Instagram post about the experience of dropping off their son, Zaire, at prep school. “Man oh Man 😭 😭 😭 Dropping your oldest off to school is another set of emotions that I didn’t know existed,” he wrote. “I’m a proud father! My goal as a parent is to raise kids who know their worth and that are better than I could ever be. From watching Zaire build a company with his friends the last two years, to watching him handle the hate that has been thrown at his sister zaya and showing grown ass men how to love unconditionally at 18 years old, To seeing how he’s been able to handle not seeing his parents interact or be in the same room together for most of his life and the list goes on and on.”

“He’s already built different. I’m excited for him to go on this journey of life as he becomes Zaire Wade!” Dwyane said.

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