Dwyane Wade is proudly smitten with his daughter Kaavia James. The youngest of the Wade-Union clan was in tow with the retired NBA star when he and members of his production company, 59th and Prairie Entertainment, attended the Dec. 3 home game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cleveland Browns at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
Wade was decked out in pink sweat pants, a white long-sleeved shirt and a pink beanie. His mini-me was dressed in a white outfit with pops of color on her Princess Tianna shirt. The retired athlete shared multiple photos of himself and the 5-year-old matching each other’s playful game day energy in his Instagram Story.
In one image, the duo appears humored as they smile for a selfie. In another, they served twin looks by making duck lips, though Kaavia added flair to her pose as she held her hand up to the camera making the peace sign.
Another wholesome moment captured by Wade showed his and Gabrielle Union’s daughter applying lip gloss to her dad’s puckered lips. He captioned the flick, “I love being a Girl Dad!” In another post, the 41-year-old and Kaavia, who is seated in a booster seat, do a father-daughter duet of the hit song “Butter” from South Korean group BTS.
The precious moments spurred a flood of reactions as the images were shared across social media. One person took issue with Wade’s use of the term “girl dad,” which grew in popularity since Kobe Bryant affectionately referred to himself as such. The late sports icon was a father to four daughters, whom he shared with his wife, Vanessa Bryant.
Dwayne Wade is a phenomenal girl dad. Absolutely no question. https://t.co/aXUDy8Fkwk
— Sarah Chovnick (@chovy_s) March 10, 2023
“He’s NOT a girl dad. Yall use the term wrong. Kobe said it because he had all daughters. Boy mom, girl dad, etc, if you only have the one gender. Thanks -Management,” read one comment. Wade has a total of four biological children, his eldest and second youngest are boys.
Others attempted to snidely challenge the Wade Cellars partner’s masculinity. Fans came to his defense with comments that read, “Y’all never seen little girls put makeup in their dad, or paint their nails, or play dress up and do tea parties?” and “Him being a loving father really bothers y’all… that says more about y’all than him…”
At least one person found humor in the lip gloss moment by bringing up Kaavia’s history as the “Shady Baby.” They wrote, “Knowing Kaavia, she probably told him his lips were ashy.”
Wade has four children from previous relationships. Kaavia, born via surrogate in 2018, is the only child, he and Union share together. For a time, headlines about the couple were often centered around their spunky toddler, known as “Shady Baby” online. However, the focus has since shifted to their relationships.
In recent weeks, the married couple of nearly a decade have been the subject of rumors of a split and looming divorce. Neither has outwardly addressed the whispers, but hawk-eyed fans are convinced that the lack of new lovey-dovey posts is evidence of trouble in Wade-Union paradise.
