“We Never Got Christmas”: Taking Advantage of Dwyane Wade’s Retirement, Gabrielle Union and Husband Turned Hawaii Vacation into a Multi-Family Cocoon

NBA legend Dwyane Wade’s wife Gabrielle Union appeared on the Jennifer Hudson show in February 2023. Talking about Wade’s retirement, she revealed that the family had for years not been able to celebrate Christmas. This was obviously because of Wade’s NBA commitments. That, however, has led to Wade wanting to spend even more time with his family.

“So ever since my husband retired from the NBA, we never got Christmas, he always played on Christmas. He wanted just, he wanted to go away to a place, and wanted just to be able to cocoon as a family,” she revealed.

The NBA, like most major sports leagues, is generally jam-packed during the Christmas season, which means that Wade was bound to not get any time to celebrate the festival with his family. With things changing, Union and Wade initially decided on a yearly vacation to Hawaii.

“So we started going to Hawaii. Then it grew, it went from our family to we invited more families, and this year we are up to 4 families,” she revealed.

As per Union, initially, it was only they who would go to Hawaii every year in order to celebrate Christmas. This, Union suggested, was partly because Dwyane Wade wanted a destination where he could spend time with his family without any interruptions.

The yearly vacation has since become a bit of a tradition, with a range of Wade’s family friends also joining in. Union revealed that their Hawaii vacation for this year included a total of 4 families, making it more of an event, than merely a vacation.

Married since 2014, the couple gave birth to Kaavia James back in 2018. The 6 member family includes Wade’s two children from his previous marriage with Siovaughn Funches, alongside Xavier, whom he fathered with Aja Metoyer.

Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union were rumored to be heading towards divorce

While the couple undoubtedly had a shaky start to their relationship, they have gone from strength to strength, right from the start. Recently, rumours about an impending divorce had swirled on the internet after the two were seen without their wedding rings in multiple social media posts.

The two, however, instantaneously brought an end to the rumours, on the occasion of Union’s 51st birthday. She posted a heartwarming image of the gifts she had received, which also included a handwritten note.

Now, Dwyane has been all the more desperate to spend time with his family, since retiring. That seems to have resulted in the Hawaii tradition as well.