<p id=”par-1_72″>Actor <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/gabrielle-union/?swcfpc=1″>Gabrielle Union</a> and former NBA star Dwyane wade met back in 2007 and began dating in 2009. The couple dated for several years before briefly splitting in 2013. But during that time, Wade fathered a child with another woman. While Union chose to forgive him and work through it, she later revealed in her memoir that she wouldn’t have stayed with Wade if she’d been the same woman she is today.</p>
<p id=”par-2_38″>Union said it took “a lot of therapy” to work <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/gabrielle-union-felt-betrayed-dwyane-wade-before-had-baby.html/?swcfpc=1″>through her problems with Wade</a>, and she clarified what she meant when she wrote those words in 2021’s “You Got Anything Stronger?” during an interview the following year.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Gabrielle-Union-Dwyane-Wade-9.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union” class=”wp-image-3792790″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union | Kevin Winter/Getty Images for BET</figcaption></figure>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-gabrielle-union-said-women-shouldn-t-feel-obligated-to-be-a-ride-or-die-partner”>Gabrielle Union said women shouldn’t feel obligated to be a ‘ride or die’ partner</h2>
<p id=”par-3_58″>Union and Wade’s relationship started out strong, and it remains strong to this day. But in the middle, the two went through a tough period when they briefly broke up and Wade got another woman pregnant. At the time, unbeknownst to the public, Union was going through fertility issues, which only added to the difficulty of the situation.</p>
<p id=”par-4_61″>In her 2021 memoir “You Got Anything Stronger?” Union opened up about what she would do differently if the situation between her and Wade had happened today. “The me of today would not have stayed with him, but would I be who I am now without that pain?” Union writes in the book. “That fiery explosion that created life and light?”</p>
<p id=”par-5_94″>During an interview with Jay Williams on the “No Limits” podcast in 2022, Union revealed what she meant by that. “I was in shock, and I continued to be in shock,” Union told Williams of learning that <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/dwyane-wade-recalls-telling-gabrielle-union-he-fathered-a-child-during-their-relationship.html/”>Wade was having a baby</a> with someone else. She said that she stayed with him because she felt like she had “to win,” but that she couldn’t really explain what she was winning at the time. After writing those initial words in her book about leaving him if it were today, she elaborated on what she meant.</p>
<p id=”par-6_50″> “If you’re in a relationship that is fraught with piss-poor choices and decision-making, you don’t have to be a ride-or-die or a down-ass chick or whatever else we call women who withstand bulls***,” Union explained, saying that she understands that now but didn’t back then. “It’s OK to save yourself.”</p>
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Gabrielle Union Revealed Why She Asked Dwyane Wade for a Prenup Before Their Marriage: I Had to Write a Big A** Check </a>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-gabrielle-union-and-dwyane-wade-have-kept-the-spark-in-their-marriage”>Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade have kept the spark in their marriage</h2>
<p id=”par-7_43″>Union worked hard to understand and overcome her feelings when Wade first told her what had happened while they were broken up. She sought therapy to help her understand her feelings, and today, it seems like she and <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/gabrielle-union-reveals-she-dwyane-wade-keep-spark-marriage-dont-mess-around.html/”>Wade have a strong marriage</a>.</p>
<p id=”par-8_56″>Union recently told Sherri Shepherd that she and Wade have a simple way of keeping that spark alive. “We don’t mess around with our TV time,” she said in an interview on Shepherd’s show. Union also revealed that she and Wade love watching HGTV’s <em>My Lottery Dream Home</em> together, which keeps things fun between them. </p>