Dwyane Wade consistently exudes delight while spending time with his loved ones and spending time with his gorgeous wife Gabrielle Union
The former NBA legend has consistently demonstrated that he is a family man. Although facing some criticism for his decisions, Dwade is incredibly supportive of his wife and kids.
No matter the circumstance, there have been numerous times when the baller has only supported his family over anybody else.
When the Miami Heat superstar first entered the NBA in 2003, he immediately became popular. After helping the Heat win the title in 2006, he was one of the first players selected in that draught to become a superstar.
A few years later, he teamed up with his best friend LeBron James to win two additional championships. Wade, however, faced many conflicts off the court as a result of his fame and success.
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Siohvaughn Funches: Who Is She?
Siohvaughn Funches, Dwyane Wade’s high school girlfriend, and he were much in love. They first met, according to People.com, when they were in fifth grade. They continued to get closer from that point on till he eventually moved in with her. Wade made the decision to move in with her due to family concerns.1
Fast forward through high school and college, and in 2002, while Dwyane Wade was slowly but surely landing his big break, Siohvaughn Funches became engaged to him. At the time, the baller was a student at Marquette University. Zaire, their first child, was born soon before they were formally wed. Zaya was conceived in 2007.
Speaking about his relationship after the birth of his second kid, Dwyane Wade told People.com that things became tense at that time. It took more than five years for the divorce he sought from Siohvaughn Funches to be finalised.
Wade experienced a lot of upheaval during this time, which had a negative impact on both his professional life and his relationship with Gabrielle Union.
In addition to being charged with abduction, Siohvaughn Funches was also held accountable for violating the visitation rules.
Siohvaughn Funches: Bio
In addition, Dwyane Wade’s ex-wife is also extremely successful. She has a real estate investment company and her own law office, The Mediation Matters Firm.
Wade and Wade started dating while attending Harold L. Richards High School in Oak Lawn, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, where Wade first met Wade when she was in the fifth grade.
According to the Washington Post, Wade even moved in with Funches-Wade and her mother at one time during his junior year of high school.
There were two factors, according to the source, that led Wade to move in with Funches-Wade. The basketball player found the conflict between his stepmother and Wade’s father, who he characterised as “militant,” distracting at the time.
However, Funches-Wade, who graduated a year earlier than Wade, went for college before him, allowing Wade to chat with her more frequently on the phone at her mother’s house.
Funches-Wade later reflected on their teenage romance in an interview with the Daily Mail, saying, “That was at that time a really significant relationship, a very loving one.”
Siohvaughn Funches: Children
She shares two kids with Wade Siohvaughn Funches, according to her family’s Instagram account.2
On February 4, 2002, Funches-Wade gave birth to their son Zaire, who was their first child. Wade, a sophomore at Marquette University, was only 20 years old at the time, as was Funches-Wade.
Wade referred to the birth of Zaire as the “proudest moment of my life” in the film D. Wade: Life Unexpected. Because I’m still a young person trying to make my way in the world and now I’m bringing a child into the world, I was both excited and incredibly nervous at the same time.
Wade talked openly to PEOPLE about his early parenthood. He explained, “You’re scared because you don’t want to screw up; you don’t want anything to happen to them.
“But in the end, I believe that we all possess the capacity to guide others, whether it be your children, godson or goddaughter, niece or nephew, or a fellow employee. Nothing changes if you have a child.”
On May 29, 2007, the couple welcomed their second child, Zaya, after waiting five years. Zaya came out as transgender in February 2020. Wade has been a vocal supporter of his daughter, constantly stating that he loves and supports everyone of his children for who they are.
He told PEOPLE, “We want kids to know there’s always unconditional love and that there will be support. “Without a doubt, we have you covered. We can see you. I view you how you view yourself.”
Siohvaughn Funches: Married Life
The couple wed in 2002.
A few months after the birth of their first child, Zaire, the former couple wed in the summer of 2002. Wade was still a student at the time and was a basketball player for Marquette University.
In the film D. Wade: Life Unexpected, Wade stated, “That summer Siohvaughn and I were married. “No matter what, my wife will always be at home, and I can always go home with my family and my son and just play with them despite the pressure, stress, and other things that are going on throughout the basketball season. You feel so much better when you have kids.”
Siohvaughn Funches: Divorce
- 2007 saw the birth of Zaya, their second child, and shortly after that Wade filed for divorce from Funches-Wade. Wade admitted in Life Unexpected that “our relationship was rocky.”
- We had many differences and didn’t know how to handle them because we had been together since we were 16 years old.
- Their lengthy and bitter divorce took six years to finally be finalised. According to ESPN, Wade was granted a divorce in June 2010, was given sole “care, custody, and control” of his two children in March 2011, and the financial issues surrounding the divorce were resolved in July 2013.
- Wade reflected on the choice to ask for full custody by saying, “It was unknown seas, but it was all about just being in my kids’ life.”
- According to the Chicago Tribune, Funches-Wade used more than a dozen attorneys over the course of the six-year legal process and filed a case against one of them for professional negligence.
- During their divorce, she also filed lawsuits against Wade, saying he owed her money from his endorsement deals and that his connection with Union was upsetting her and her children.
- She was detained and charged with attempted child abduction in June 2012 after failing to deliver her two kids to Wade during a visit (the charges were later dropped).
- Funches-Wade also set up camp in front of Chicago’s Daley Plaza with a sign that read, “NBA Miami Heat Star Mother of His Children on the Streets” when the financial settlement was reached in 2013.
- “Ms. Funches has made a joke of homelessness which is a serious and personal matter for Mr. Wade as his mother was homeless for a period of time when he was a child,” stated Wade’s attorney at the time, James B. Pritikin.
Siohvaughn Funches: Books
The Real Story for God’s Glory: The Life of Siohvaughn L. Funches-Wade, published in 2016, and You Must Let God Finish!, released in 2018, are both works by Funches-Wade.3
Her autobiography, published as her debut book, described her marriage to Wade and subsequent divorce. Wade, however, is never mentioned by name in the book; rather, Wade is only referred to as her spouse or the father of her children because of the non-disparagement clause in her divorce settlement.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Funches-Wade maintained charges in the memoirs that Wade was unfaithful and had physically abused her while they were dating (claims he refuted in divorce court).
The book was also viewed as a rebuttal to Wade’s 2012 book, A Father First: How My Life Became Larger Than Basketball, in which he recounted his own account of their divorce.
In The Real Story for God’s Glory, Funches-Wade writes, “I got divorced and had both my children wrongly removed from me, I lost my home and my health, and my reputation was destroyed.”
“But in comparison to the suffering I went through because of my love of money, it was all nothing. I’m still recovering from the anguish today.”
Siohvaughn Funches: Career
According to her LinkedIn profile, she attended the John Marshall Law School in Atlanta and graduated in May 2017. She founded The Mediation Matters Firm after earning her law degree, which offers alternative dispute resolution services like case reviews, domestic and civil mediation, and parenting coordination.
In Georgia, Funches-Wade also counsels victims of domestic abuse and holds the position of Guardian ad Litem, which enables her to represent neglected and mistreated children in court. Also, she is a real estate investor.
Funches-Wade is the founder and president of A Woman’s Worth Foundation in addition to her professional roles (also known as A Wow Woman Foundation).
The Christian non-profit organisation focuses on problems impacting women, such as domestic abuse. The organisation offers assistance like career preparation, counselling, clothing and food, and its own temporary shelter for women and children fleeing domestic violence.
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