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“Everything that now comes into my life needs to come wrapped in joy, peace, and grace”: Gabrielle Union explains the tough state of mind she was in after divorcing her first husband

Advait Jajodia
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“Chris Howard, in case I said no, you really had a woman from Greece, in route to Jacksonville?!”: When Gabrielle Union found out about her first husband’s ongoing fling with a Greek girl a day after getting engaged

Gabrielle Union was in a tough spot, emotionally, after the divorce from her first husband. Dwyane Wade’s wife explains how a trainer got her to figure out the things that made her happy.

Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union can be considered as one power couple. D-Wade has had quite an illustrious career, racking up a distinguished resume, and earning hundreds of millions during the glorious 16 years he spent as one of the best guards in the NBA. Whereas, Gabby, a successful individual in her own way, has been one of the most admired actresses for almost two decades now.

However, The Flash wasn’t Union’s first husband. The Bad Boys II star was married to NFL running back Chris Howard for almost 5 years, before getting divorced in 2006.

Back in 2018, years after her first divorce, Gabrielle gathered the courage to talk about the difficult state of mind she was in while dealing with her divorce. In an interview with VICE Life, the then-45-year-old revealed:

“You know divorce, it’s a matter of public record and I had like maybe 24 hours before someone found it at the courthouse and it was a news item. Incredibly painful and difficult when it’s a public thing. So any time you have a misstep or a public thing, that doesn’t have to be your identity. I don’t go through life saying ‘I’m a divorce’.

And I started working with this life coach/trainer. So during one of these boxing sessions, she said ‘Give me 10 things that make you happy.’ And I’m boxing and I’m exhausted and I start crying and I can’t think of anything that makes me happy. And she’s like ‘Give me something. Is it sunsets? Is it something?’ And I was like ‘Ground beef, real butter, and imitation crab.’ And she was like ‘Okay stop! Bi*ch, did you say imitation crab? Not even the real thing makes you happy?’

And I was like ‘Well, it’s cheaper and it tastes pretty close.’ And she said ‘Okay, okay. If you don’t know what makes you happy, how in the hell could someone else know how to make you happy? You gotta figure out what makes you happy first.’”

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“If you are not going to allow me to move through the world with grace and peace, this isn’t the friendship, relationship, or the job I want”: Gabrielle Union

The 8-time BET Awards’ Best Actress nominee further went on to disclose how she had to work on herself and only accepted people or jobs in her life only if it brought her “joy, peace, and grace”. She continued:

“So I had to work on my happy list. I still kept those three things on it cause they do actually make me happy. But I had to do the work and figure out what do I like versus what do I think other people expect me to like.

Everything that I ask now, that comes into my life, whether that be a friendship, a relationship, a working opportunity that it needs to come wrapped in joy, peace, and grace. If you are going to rob me of my joy, this isn’t the job for me. If you are going to inspire the crazy in me and not allow me to move through the world with grace and peace, this isn’t the friendship, the relationship, or the job that I want in my life.

And I got help, I went to therapy. I’m still in therapy. Still working on it.”

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Now, Gabrielle seems to be in a much better state of mind, emotionally. Despite their fair share of ups and downs, Gabrielle appears to be quite happy with Wade and their family.

About the author

Advait Jajodia

Advait Jajodia

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Advait Jajodia, a seasoned NBA journalist, has had a passion for the game for over a decade. His journey from admiring Kobe Bryant's precision to being in awe of Stephen Curry's long-range mastery instilled a profound understanding of basketball. With a background as a two-time National-level player, Advait uses his experience on the hardwood to offer insightful analysis. Over three years of dedicated sports journalism has equipped the 21-year-old with a unique perspective, reflected in his prolific portfolio of 3,350+ articles.

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