As far as celebrity power couples go, you’d be hard pressed to find one who seem to have as much fun as actress Gabrielle Union and her husband, former NBA superstar Dwyane Wade.
These two are the definition of living their best lives, and luckily for us, they’re fond of sharing the good times on their social media channels. Actually, Union and Wade are also super open about the tougher times in their marriage—like their struggles with infertility before having daughter Kaavia James via a surrogate—which makes the celebrations even more joyous to see.
Do some of their posts inspire insane vacation envy? Sure, but we can live with that. The couple even has a hashtag for the frequent travels: #WayneWorldTour. The latest fabulous trip is a celebration of the Union and Wade’s fifth wedding anniversary, and they’re living it up with friends on a yacht in the Mediterranean.
To kick it off, they both shared sweet anniversary posts to each other. “I had THE best time at our wedding and I’ve been smiling ever since. To see this video & so many of our loved ones & all the fun we had…man, we partied till the sun came up. 8-30-2014
If you were there, tell the tale in the comments ❤?❤,” Union wrote on Instagram.
“The first 5 rounds was light bring on the next 5‼️ Happy 5th anniversary @gabunion ?,” Wade echoed.
As we all know, Chrissy Teigen is a national treasure who should be protected at all costs. I adore her for many reasons—like her epic social media trolling moments and her real talks about everything from parenting to body image. But one of my favorite things about Teigen is her ability to unwittingly go viral every time she attends a public event. Remember when she got hit in the face with an umbrella on a New Year’s Eve telecast? Or how about when she seemingly dozed off at the 2017 Oscars? I’m eternally grateful for these moments.
And now we have a new one to add to the list. It all went down last night at a Miami Heat basketball game in Florida: Teigen showed up courtside with husband John Legend and actress Gabrielle Union to watch Union’s husband, Dwyane Wade, play in his final regular season home game before retiring. At one point during the game, Wade ended up in the laps of Teigen and Legend, and the photo (by Charles Trainer Jr. for the Miami Herald) is simply perfection. Just look at those facial expressions!
Naturally, Teigen had a witty response to the photo, calling it a “Renaissance painting.” She also said it was “an honor” to be crashed into by Wade.
Everyone had a good laugh about the whole thing. One fan tweeted, “This kind of shit seems to always happen to you lol. First the New Year’s umbrella and now this.”
Naturally, people are turning this viral moment into a slew of hilarious memes:
This wasn’t the only fun moment at the game, which kicked off with a celebration of Wade’s career. Union got in on the action by playfully grabbing her husband’s butt at one point:
Mark Brown/Getty Images
And then there was a sweet moment with the night’s other big star, Union and Wade’s baby daughter, Kaavia James Union Wade:
Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Perhaps all retiring players should invite Chrissy Teigen to their final game. They’ll be pretty much guaranteed an amazing viral moment.
Actress Gabrielle Union and husband Dwyane Wade have been incredibly forthright about their experience trying to have a child, from experiencing close to 10 miscarriages to the years-long battle with trying to get pregnant. “For three years, my body has been a prisoner of trying to get pregnant—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,” she wrote in her memoir. In November, they welcomed their first daughter, Kaavia James, who was born via surrogate. And in an exclusive interview with Oprah that aired on OWN, the Union-Wade parents recounted their struggle in the hopes of increasing awareness and visibility around infertility.
Union and Wade wanted to share their story to help those who are dealing with infertility “feel seen,” according to Union: “They feel like they’re not alone,” she told Oprah.
The couple recounted their experience going through IVF—having embryos implanted and take, only to miscarry; trying again and again, thinking “you work hard, you do the right things, you’re a good person,” as Union put it. She “could not let go of this idea of creating this life within me,” she added, feeling there was a “need to be pregnant for everybody, including myself.”
Wade would get concerned about Union: “I’m watching her do things to her body and to herself that it’s getting to the point where it’s not healthy,” he told Oprah. “And as I always told her: ‘I want this baby just as much as you do, but I married you, and you are the most important thing to me.’ So it came to a point where, you know, I started to feel a certain way about that because I didn’t want something to happen to her.'”
Eventually, the Union-Wades opted for a surrogate—though, Union said she still struggles with her feelings around using one: “Did I miss—did I fail in some kind of way? Did I—am I defective in some kind of deep, you know, just—am I defective in some kind of way? Am I less than in some kind of way? Am I less worthy in some kind of way?”
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The couple was involved throughout their surrogate’s entire pregnancy, “trying to feel as a part of the birth process as possible, since it’s happening outside of both of us. But it’s been a long—a long journey,” Union said. They were at the hospital when their surrogate was in labor, and described the experience of being in the delivery room with her and her husband as deeply bonding.
“Everyone’s journey is different. Everyone’s journey to surrogacy is different,” Union said. By being open about their journey, the Union-Wades want to spark hope in couples going through similar circumstances— and break some of the stigma that still surrounds infertility.
“So many people are suffering in silence and every time, when we’re candid and transparent about our journeys, no matter what those journeys are, you are allowing people to be seen and heard and empowered in ways that they’ve never been,” Union told Oprah.
Since the show aired on OWN, people have taken to social media to praise the couple for their honesty and for bringing attention to this incredibly personal subject.
“Oprah and @itsgabrielleu are really on OWN discussing Black women’s infertility, painful periods, and seeking help instead of suffering in silence. What a time,” Evette Dionne wrote on Twitter.
“WOW! I just watched @itsgabrielleu & @dwyanewade special on @owntv and I was soo inspired by their story!I laughed, I cried, I learned so much… my spirit was truly moved,” actress Naturi Naughton shared on Instagram.
“I appreciate how @itsgabrielleu showed us the potential challenges of egg freezing on @beingmaryjane and then shared so much about @DwyaneWade and her personal journey with IVF on @OWNTV. Thank you! Learned a lot from both,” another user posted on Twitter.
“So glad @DwyaneWade & @itsgabrielleu are addressing the boundaries people cross when a couple goes through IVF and other methods to have children. It’s still so dissapointing to know how much people don’t really know about basic genetics,” one user wrote.
There’s nothing like surprise celebrity baby news to brighten up a day. On Thursday, November 8, Gabrielle Union took to social media to announce that she and her husband, NBA star Dwyane Wade, were the proud parents to a new baby girl. Their child was born the day before, November 7, via a surrogate.
Union has been extremely open about her struggles with infertility in the past, but the couple had kept the surrogacy private until she posted pictures of herself and Wade snuggling their new daughter. In the caption Union wrote, “A LOVELY DAY. 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 in our hearts as the most loveliest of all the lovely days. Welcome to the party sweet girl! #onelastdance #skintoskin @dwyanewade”
The couple are already parents to Wade’s sons Zaire and Zion, from a previous relationship, and help raise Wade’s nephew Zahveon, and they’ve spoken publicly about the desire to have a child together. That wasn’t always the case, though. “I never wanted kids,” she said. “Then I became a stepmom, and there was no place I’d rather be than with them.”
In her book We’re Going to Need More Wine, Union opened up about her IVF treatments and revealed she had multiple miscarriages. “I have had eight or nine miscarriages,” she writes. “For three years, my body has been a prisoner of trying to get pregnant—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.” But she noted that she and Wade “remain bursting with love and ready to do anything to meet the child we’ve both dreamed of.”
Now, they have their “miracle baby” and celebrities and fans alike could not be happier for the couple. “What a blessing!!! I am so happy for you guys!!!” Janelle Monae commented on Union’s post. And director Ava Duvernay wrote, “How wonderful!” See just a few reactions, below:
