Gabrielle Union’s new book You Got Anything Stronger? was released earlier this week. In the memoir, the former America’s Got Talent judge opens up about her now-husband Dwyane Wade fathering another woman’s child.
Wade fathered his son Xavier while he and Union were on a break. Union found out while she was experiencing fertility issues, and she describes herself as “devastated” to learn the news.
Gabrielle Union Writes About Dwyane Wade Fathering Another Woman’s Child
Wade, a former NBA player, fathered 7-year-old Xavier with Aja Metoyer in 2013, while he and Union were taking a break from their relationship. They got engaged later that year, and were married in August 2014.
“To say I was devastated is to pick a word on a low shelf for convenience,” Union wrote about the revelation in her new book. “I have not had words, and even after untold amounts of therapy I am not sure I have them now. But truth matters.”
When Union heard about Metoyer’s pregnancy, she and Wade were trying to have their own child, and Union was facing fertility problems. This just made the news about Wade and Metoyer’s baby sting even more.
“The experience of Dwyane having a baby so easily — while I was unable to — left my soul not just broken into pieces, but shattered into fine dust scattering in the wind,” Union wrote. “We gathered what we could to slowly remake me into something new. There was no way to disguise where I’d been glued back together.”
While she was struggling to get pregnant, Union writes that she felt like “such a failure,” thinking she needed to let Wade go so he could “find someone who could give him what he wanted.”
The couple eventually decided to have a child through surrogacy. Their daughter Kaavia was born in November 2018, meaning she’ll be turning 3 years old this year. In addition to his son Xavier, Wade also has two children (Zaire and Zaya) with his ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches.
“Each day, he had worked to be forgiven,” Union wrote of Wade, “and I had chosen to love him and forgive him. And part of this journey of making peace with our love is also making peace with ourselves.”
Jill O'Rourke Jill O’Rourke is a contributor at Talent Recap, writing news stories and recaps for shows like ‘AGT,’ ‘The Voice,’ and ‘American Idol.’ She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and Film Studies, and has been writing about pop culture since 2012, with previous bylines at Crushable and A Plus. Jill spends her free time binge-watching sitcoms and daydreaming about life as a hobbit
