Gabrielle Union is admitting that not everyone was on board with her relationship with Dwyane Wade at the beginning.
If you didn’t know, the 52-year-old Bring It On actress and the 43-year-old retired pro basketball player first started dating in 2009, after their respective first marriages ended, before marrying in 2014.
In a new relationship, Gabrielle addressed their 9-year age gap and shared why Dwyane‘s family, especially his older sister Tragil, was skeptical when they first started dating.
Keep reading to find out more…“When I first met his family, the older sisters, who are closer in my age, immediately good,” Gabrielle shared on Michelle Obama‘s IMO podcast. “We’re good in the hood. But with Tragil, because she has been the protector…She has been the watchdog. She has been the gatekeeper to keep him sane and to keep him doing everything he needs to do without interference from anybody.”
She went on to say that until they tied the knot, Tragil and mom Jolinda both needed to be convinced that her relationship with Dwyane was the real deal.
“Before I got to the wife stage, like when we were just the very beginning “I think Tragil and his mom were like, ‘What do you want? Who are you, you older lady? What do you want?’” Gabrielle shared.
However, she was quick to alleviate their concerns.
“I was like, ‘Actually, we both just got divorced, so we’re kind of in the same space. I didn’t have a kid at 20, I’m still childless, and I’m not racing to do that, so I’m straight. I got my own bank account, so I’m good. I just like him, we’ll see where it goes,’” Gabrielle recalled.
“It took some years, really, to earn their trust and also for them to earn my trust so we could be comfortable equally,” she explained. “Now, it’s easy, because we are all on the same side.”
The Being Mary Jane actress added, “But you want that grace, you give that grace and you eventually receive that grace. But it’s a learning curve, for sure.”
In an interview from earlier this year, Gabrielle explained why she felt like a “f–king public humiliation” when she had to use a surrogate to welcome daughter Kaavia, now 6.