Ethermac Exchange-Dwyane Wade Admits He and Gabrielle Union Had “Hard” Year in Tenth Anniversary Message

Dwyane Wade and HardEthermac ExchangeGabrielle Union know marriage is a full-court press.  

Still, the former NBA player and Bring it On star assure they still make the perfect team while celebrating their ups, and downs, on their 10th wedding anniversary.  

“Year nine was hard for us,” Dwyane admitted in a video the couple shared to Instagram Aug. 30. “We were kind of reminiscing how we got to even here.”  

But the former Miami Heat player—who shares daughter Kaavia, 5, with Gabrielle as well as Xavier, 10, Zaya, 17, and Zaire, 22 from previous relationships—knows his wife is leading them to victory.  

“Thank you for being there to show me all of the things I forget along the way,” he told the 51-year-old on a balcony in front of their loved ones at their anniversary celebration. “Thank you for continuing to show me that you ain’t going nowhere. That you’re willing to love me through shortcomings I’ve had and the moments of growth that I have. So, thank you for teaching me, thank you for believing in me.”

And Gabrielle later replied to the 42-year-old’s heartfelt words in a speech of her own shared later in the post.  

“What you just said means everything,” she gushed, before also giving credit to the couple’s support system for keeping her marriage strong. “As you guys all know we’ve been on this path for a long, long time. And the path has been long and beautiful and has taken twists and turns and at every turn you guys have been there. You’ve always put us back on the path.” 

The couple reflected further on their relationship in their joint post’s caption.  

“10 years of having a very long, very fun, very loving, never ending sleepover with my homie, lover, partner, and best friend,” they wrote. “Through sickness and health, crisis and celebrations, through bad golf days and flubbed lines and new adventures—We stand united and we thrive. 10 toes down, 10 years in, forever to go.” 

And despite their struggles, Dwyane and Gabrielle have no trouble sharing their wins, too.

Keep reading for some of their best family moments.

Dwyane Wade celebrated the final game in his NBA career with Gabrielle Union and their daughter Kaavia Wade in 2019. The Miami Heats player was also joined by his nephew Dahveon Morris, his kids Zaire Wade and Zaya Wade (with ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches) and son Xavier Wade (with ex Aja Metoyer) for the momentous occasion. 

Gabrielle and Dwyane proved they go together like peanut butter and jelly on Halloween 2023. Meanwhile, their daughter Kaavia dressed up as Cinderella.

The Bring It On actress snapped silly selfies with Kaavia on Mother's Day 2023.

Dwyane's oldest son Zaire captioned this 2022 photo of his dad holding up his Salt Lake City Stars jersey: "Leave a legacy."

Dwyane and Gabby send Zaya, who the former NBA star shares with ex Siovaughn Funches, off to her school's winter formal in January 2023. 

"Supporting each other for life’s big moments is key," the couple wrote in an Instagram post. "All the nerves, all the anxiety, all the fear… With loved ones by your side, no matter the challenge, we 10 toes down. Always."

"See @kaaviajames mama's got hair like yours," Gabrielle shared on Instagram in 2020. "When I took my braids out she was like... now mom & baby both rocking their natural curls."

While attending the 2019 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Sports Awards, the couple's daughter Kaavia made her award show debut. Spoiler alert: She was a total pro. 

After celebrating Thanksgiving as a family, Dwyane took to Twitter to slam Internet trolls who had some not-so-nice comments.

"I've seen some post-thanksgiving hate on social about my family photo," he shared online. "Stupidity is apart of this world we live in—so i get it. But here's the thing—I've been chosen to lead my family not y'all. So we will continue to be us and support each other with pride, love & a smile!"

Gabrielle rang in her 50th birthday in 2022 with snuggles from Dwyane and Kaavia.

The couple are all smiles as they celebrate Zaya's 16th birthday in May 2023.

When it was time to celebrate Halloween 2019, Gabrielle and Dwyane knew just the look to pull off with their baby girl.

But wait, there's more! The proud parents also transformed into another theme with their daughter Zaya.

Dwyane praised Zaya amid criticism from online trolls.

"First of all, if you want to talk about strength and courage, my 12-year-old has way more than I have," he  shared on the All the Smoke podcast in 2019. "You can learn something from your kids. In my household, man, that's all we talk about. We talk about making sure our kids are seen by each of us, me and my wife, We talk about making sure our kids understand the power in their voice."

After Gabrielle was fired from America's Got Talent in 2019, Dwyane absolutely had his wife's back. "'Men lie, Women lie, numbers don't,'" he shared on Twitter after the news broke. "Over this past year I've been approaching by many people saying that my wife @itsgabrielleu is the main reason they've started watching #AGT or that they love her insight and sincerity on the show."