*Gabrielle Union is opening up about one of the most painful chapters of her journey to motherhood, describing her surrogacy experience as a deeply personal and public struggle.
In a candid conversation with Marie Claire, the actress shared how difficult it was emotionally when she and her husband, former NBA star Dwyane Wade, turned to surrogacy after experiencing multiple miscarriages.
“Every single person’s surrogacy journey is different,” Union said, acknowledging that no two experiences are alike. Still, she admitted to feeling intense pressure and judgment during the process.
“It’s like any time there’s any kind of variance in the experience, it’s, ‘See, I told you. You shouldn’t explore this option to expand your family,’” she said.
Union didn’t hold back on describing the pain she endured. “But for me, it felt like failure. My body failed. It just felt like such a f—ing public humiliation.”
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At the time, Wade was already a father to four children from previous relationships—Zaire, 23, Dahveon, 21, Zaya, 17, and Xavier, 11—whom Union helps raise as a devoted stepmom. Still, the desire to have a child of their own was something Union held onto tightly, even as the journey tested her emotionally and physically. In 2018, their perseverance led them to welcome their daughter, Kaavia Wade, into their lives via surrogacy.
Union says her parenting style shifts depending on each child’s needs, explaining, “Each child gets a different version of me because they need a different version of me.”
She balances being nurturing and firm, stepping in where needed: “Sometimes when my husband says certain things to certain kids, it just lands like an anvil… So in those cases, I’m like, I got this.”
Union believes parenting isn’t one-size-fits-all, saying, “I’ve learned that there’s no one way to parent.”
When it comes to being friends with her kids, she describes herself as “friendly” with the older children, while Dwyane is more like “their homie.” She shares a unique connection with Wade’s transgender daughter Zaya, saying, “I feel like her motherly friend because we have more in common.”
As for Kaavia, Union adds, “She’s such a small person and yet we’re so much alike.”
By sharing her experience, she continues to shed light on the emotional weight tied to fertility struggles—and the strength it takes to face them.
