“We Are Proud Parents of a Child in the LGBTQ+ Community”: Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union Made Stance Very Clear on 15-Year-Old Daughter in 2020

In the early days of 2020, three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade announced on the Ellen Show that his wife, Gabrielle Union, and he are “proud parents of a child in the LGBTQ+ community”. Zaya is Wade’s daughter from his first marriage to Siohvaughn Funches-Wade. Gabrielle Union is her stepmother. At the age of 12, Zaya came out to her father and stepmother saying that she was ready to “live her truth.” She requested to be identified as ‘she’ and wanted to be addressed with the name Zaya. 

In August 2022, the Miami Heat star submitted a request to the court asking that his daughter wished to legally change her name from Zion to Zaya. Reports suggest that Wade signed the request since he is the legal custodian and his ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches isn’t. Funches received a given a copy of this petition. 

Siohvuaghn Funches files a countermotion, and Dwyane Wade responds

Following this, early this month, Siohvuaghn Funches filed a motion in a Los Angeles court. The motion states that she hadn’t received a copy of the petition. She also argued that Wade is forcing Zaya to change her name officially. 

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She claimed that Wade is attempting to financially benefit from Zaya and Zaya’s identity. Additionally, she added that Wade has openly admitted to her that “a lot of money has already been made.” Hence, Funches has requested the court to reject Wade’s request and let Zaya decide her future once she is 18 years old. 

Following this allegation, Wade responded via an Instagram post. He denied these accusations and said, “No one in our house would ever force Zaya or any of our children to do anything against their will, much less force an identity on them.” He called Funches out for being an absent mother and also stated that these allegations have hurt his children. 

Dwyane Wade’s marriage to Funches lasted for five years. They had two children, Zaire and Zaya, together. Their divorce battle was strenuous and long. It ended with Wade receiving full legal custody of his children.  

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As mentioned by Wade in his Instagram post, his lawyer will be in contact. This is a developing situation. Siohvuaghn Funches is yet to respond to Wade’s post, publicly.