Gabrielle Union’s family wasn’t sure about Dwyane Wade at first. The 48-year-old actress appeared on Tuesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and revealed why her family was distrustful of Wade at the start of their relationship.
The wariness, Union said, came after her first marriage to Chris Howard, with whom she tied the knot in 2001, before their 2006 split. After that breakup, when she introduced her family to Wade, they were worried he was going to take her money.
“It had happened before,” Union said. “There was some precedent there, otherwise known as my first marriage. Left me a little lighter.”
When Kimmel pointed out Wade’s hefty salary from his NBA days, Union noted that Howard, a former NFL player, had likewise been well-off.
“That’s what we were talking about with the first one, too, and then there was a change of fortune. Bring It On hit,” she explained of her hit 2000 movie. “It led me to, when it was over, I had to write the check. My family really didn’t like it, ’cause it cut in to their budget.”
With all that in mind, when Union’s father met Wade he had a very important question for him.
“When he first met Dwyane he was like, ‘What are your intentions? What do you want from my daughter?'” Union recalled. “[Dwyane was like,] ‘Her love?'”
The couple, who recently celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary, had quite the summer together, even traveling around Europe. Union and Wade both shared photos from their travels, which often showed the former pro athlete shirtless.
“He was firmly committed to shirtless summer, and I was here for it,” Union quipped of her husband. “I don’t often chime in about his fashion choices, but I was here for this.”
One time that Union will chime in on Wade’s outfit of choice, is when his pants are a bit too tight.
“He likes a slim fit. The thing about a slim fit pant if you are a blessed person, a blessed gentleman, I was like, ‘Uh, lot of information there with that slim fit, with that particular cut. I can see your heartbeat, so,'” she said. “I will give him a heads up that it could be a problem. He rarely listens.”
“He’s like, ‘What is the eggplant emoji and why is that in my comments?'” Union continued. “He knows [what it means] now. I think it’s the goal, to have his comment section filled with [eggplant emojis].”
