Dwyane Wade has made being a better husband and partner a priority in the six years since his NBA retirement. He and Gabrielle Union have been married for a decade and together since 2009, except for a brief breakup in 2013.
The former Miami Heat point guard is now testing out his daytime television chops as a guest co-host on “TODAY with Jenna & Friends” this week. During the March 11 broadcast, Wade spoke about his first date with “The Perfect Find” actress.
He explained, “Me and my wife kind of started the opposite way. We pretty much, it felt like we were married first, and then we got to know each other. Like, we just started the opposite way, I feel. We didn’t go on a date, we didn’t like sit in a restaurant for hours and like talk about our hopes, our wishes, our dreams.”
In fact, Wade alluded to their first significant encounter being one solely rooted in passion. “It was just kinda like, ‘You look good… I look good… What are you doing tonight?’” he shared. The pair met in 2007 after he separated from Siohvaughn Funches, the mother of his two eldest children, Zaire and Zaya.
Funches and Wade wed in 2002 and their divorce was finalized in 2013, with the former NBA star retaining custody of their kids. He is also a guardian of nephew Daheveon and father to his and Union’s daughter Kaavia James, 6.
His recollection of his and Union’s first “deep moment” was no different.
“My wife’s so beautiful, and so when she was talking, I wasn’t really listening. My apologies, I was just kinda looking at her eyes, lips, and all those things,” Wade confessed. What he managed to recall, however, was her impressive vocabulary that exceeded his own.
@jennaandfriends_ Dwyane Wade talks to Jenna Bush Hager about what it was like dating Gabrielle Union, proposing to her — and shares why her nickname is “Nickie.” ❤️ #JennaAndFriends ♬ original sound – TODAY with Jenna & Friends
“She was so smart…so intelligent. She was saying words that I was like looking up, like what it this, and it turned me on. I was very attracted to the intelligence,” he gushed.
Wade even disclosed that as a franchise player he had his share of experiences with other women, but Union is the only woman apart from Funches he took seriously. “I don’t even know really how to date. I know how to be married, I guess,” he told Hager.
The light-hearted banter sparked a range of reactions on social media. One shared on TikTok read, “So basically they did they nasty first then realized ‘Wait, I want you in my life forever.’”
Similarly, another user wrote, “So it was a situationship turned marriage.” A third person’s reaction stated, “I mean, it’s nice, but let’s not forget he had a baby on her while they were together.”
Another person recalled the couple’s viral 50-50 financial arrangement was partly conceived because Wade referred to his family’s home as “his house” during an argument with Union.
As a result of the low blow, the “Deliver Us From Eva” star mandated that she pay to contribute to all of their lifestyle costs so as to not feel like the former athlete had “control” over any aspect of her life.
However, Union recently revealed on the “Balanced Black Girl” podcast that she has healed from that “trauma response” and that Wade covers the mortgage, while she contributes 35 percent to extraneous costs like their lavish vacations.
