Gabrielle Union says surrogacy felt like public humiliation: ‘Like a cuckold'
Actress Gabrielle Union opens up about her motherhood journey, surrogacy, and more with a vulnerability and transparency that may inspire others to feel less alone.
Gabrielle Union is getting real about surrogacy.
The 52-year-old actress and mother opened up about the complexity of surrogacy while discussing her motherhood journey in a recent profile for Marie Claire magazine's first-ever motherhood issue.
When the 'Perfect Find' star was ready to expand her family with her husband, former NBA player Dwyane Wade, she ultimately had to go the surrogacy route to conceive her six-year-old daughter, Kaavia.
'For me, it felt like failure,' she said. 'My body failed. It just felt like such a f— public humiliation. Surrogacy felt like a cuckold; watching somebody do something I can't do. To be there for somebody else succeeding where I failed—it is a mind f— for people who have had my journey and who feel similarly. When it's never been your reality, I get the urge to judge and cast aspersions because we all want whatever route we took to be the 'right' way.'
Union, who has one biological child with Wade and is stepmother to his other three children from previous relationships, said she's still not quite over the emotional toll of the experience.
'I'll never have peace with it, ever,' the 'Being Mary Jane' alum admitted. 'And that's not a what-anybody-has-to-say thing; that's just—my yearning has never dissipated. I was so ready for my surprise, but all the prayers that didn't get answered in the way that I thought made me more conscientious that my child is here.'
She mused, 'Did I want the public applause and attention that come with being a public pregnant person? Because your baby is here. Your child is here. Healthy. Amazing.'
Regardless, the actress said she is 'grateful' to her surrogate.
'I'm very grateful to our gestational caregiver, though. It's just one of those things where it's such a personal journey that I may never know full peace with the coulda, woulda, shouldas,' she noted.
She also said people can be judgmental of her less-than-rosy feelings on the topic.
'Because it's different and because every single person's surrogacy journey is different,' she said. 'It's like any time there's any kind of variance in the experience, it's, 'See, I told you. You shouldn't explore this option to expand your family.''
Union and Wade's blended family includes their daughter Kaavia; two children Wade shares with ex-wife Siovaughn Funches, Zaire, 23, and Zaya, 17, and a son he shares with Aja Metoyer, Xavier, 11. Wade is also the legal guardian of his nephew, Dahveon Morris, 21, and Union's little sister has been living with the family for the last five years.
The busy jet-setting actress who just appeared alongside her husband on the 2025 Met Gala's blue carpet in New York on Monday has, over the years, credited a very locked-in village for how she and Wade make it all work.
While speaking to Scary Mommy in 202, Union said, 'I depend heavy, heavy, heavy on our village: my sisters, my niece, my mom, my husband's mom. My mom at 60 adopted three children. They're other family members, but they're now my siblings/cousins, we call them the Unions 2.0. It's all hands on deck.'
In the Marie Claire profile, she reiterated her thoughts around her village.
'I don't think we're supposed to be equipped to do this on our own. You know what I mean?' she said.
More must-reads:
Pope Leo XIV's roots reach back to New Orleans…and they're Black
SWAC defeats $150M lawsuit from Urban Edge Network over media rights to HBCU athletic games
Daughter says mom 'gave me life twice' with kidney donation as pair graduate nursing school together
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Jeremy Allen White Named Ambassador for Louis Vuitton as Pharrell Williams Praises His 'Quiet Confidence'
Louis Vuitton has ordered up a new role for Jeremy Allen White, booking the Emmy Award winning star of The Bear as a new house ambassador. The news, confirmed by Louis Vuitton out of Paris on Tuesday morning, makes a red carpet romance official as White previously stepped out in LV ensembles at the Met Gala in May and the SAG Awards in February. For the former, he wore a custom pinstriped three-piece suit in black with pearl buttons and flared trousers paired with a white shirt and tie, a diamond-encrusted brooch and a gold Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds. For the latter, he stepped out in a black three-piece, single-breasted tuxedo minus the bow tie. More from The Hollywood Reporter Scott Cooper to Write, Direct Crime Drama for United Artists, Scott Stuber (Exclusive) 'The Bear' Season 4 Trailer Looks for Calm Amid the Usual Chaos Bruce Springsteen Biopic 'Deliver Me From Nowhere' Sets October Release Both the looks belong to Louis Vuitton men's creative director Pharrell Williams who released a statement about White's appointment. 'Jeremy's got a quiet confidence and authenticity that you can't fake. It's effortless. At Louis Vuitton, it's about real people who move culture forward — and Jeremy lives that. We're proud to welcome him into the family,' he said. After breaking out in a big way thanks to his starring turn as Carmen Berzatto, the main character on Christopher Storer's FX series The Bear, White won a slew of awards and signed a deal as an ambassador for Calvin Klein. He stripped down to his underwear for back-to-back campaigns. On the heels of The Iron Claw, he filmed a role as Bruce Springsteen in Scott Cooper's Deliver Me From Nowhere about the making of the iconic rocker's 1982 album Nebraska. Penned by Cooper adapted from the book by Warren Zanes, the film also stars Stephen Graham, Marc Maron, Gaby Hoffmann, David Krumholtz, Paul Walter Hauser, Jeremy Strong, Odessa Young and Grace Gummer. Other major names in the Louis Vuitton family include Zendaya, Emma Stone, Lisa, J-Hope, Jackson Wang, Callum Turner, Timothée Adolphe, Léon Marchand, Antoine Dupont, Felix and Enzo Lefort. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Seeing Double? 25 Pairs of Celebrities Who Look Nearly Identical From 'Lady in the Lake' to 'It Ends With Us': 29 New and Upcoming Book Adaptations in 2024 Meet the Superstars Who Glam Up Hollywood's A-List
USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
Sydney Sweeney unrecognizable for Christy Martin biopic: See transformation
Sydney Sweeney unrecognizable for Christy Martin biopic: See transformation "Sydney trained her butt off to play the part," David Michôd, the biopic's director, told W Magazine. Show Caption Hide Caption Sydney Sweeney arrives at the 2025 Met Gala in dazzling black gown Sydney Sweeney graces the Met Gala red carpet in a dazzling black gown. Sydney Sweeney underwent a major transformation and put on almost 30 pounds in preparation for, and during, the filming of her role in the upcoming biopic on trailblazing female boxer Christy Martin. 'My body was completely different," Sweeney said in a recent interview with W Magazine, for which she was the cover star. "I didn't fit in any of my clothes. I'm usually a size 23 in jeans, and I was wearing a size 27. My boobs got bigger. And my butt got huge. It was crazy! I was like, 'Oh my god.' But it was amazing: I was so strong, like crazy strong." The actor said she has no regrets and "loved it." 'I came onboard to play Christy, and I had about three and a half months of training," the "Anyone but You" film star said, per the magazine. "I started eating. I weight-trained in the morning for an hour, kickboxed midday for about two hours and then weight-trained again at night for an hour.' Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. Sydney Sweeney 'trained her butt off' The film's director, David Michôd, revealed the actor gained more than 30 pounds to play the athlete, who some say put female boxing on the map in the '90s. "Sydney trained her butt off to play the part," Michôd told the magazine. "The beauty of Sydney is that she turned up to work every day with her tail wagging, ready to go. No matter how tough it was, she was like a ray of sunshine." The revelation comes a few months after the 27-year-old "Euphoria" star hit back on Instagram against a series of negative comments about paparazzi photos of her in a bikini. Earlier, as filming wrapped up, Sweeney shared photos of herself dressed as Martin on social media with the caption: 'Over the past few months, i've been immersed in training to bring to life the story of an incredible woman—a true champion who fought battles both inside and outside the ring. Her journey is a testament to resilience, strength, and hope, and I'm honored to step into her shoes to share her powerful story with you all. more to come soon.' In the photos, Sweeney could be seen looking bulkier, while also wearing brown contact lenses and a brunette wig with a mullet-like hairstyle. What is the film about? The untitled biopic, co-written by Michôd and Mirrah Foulkes, follows Martin's journey as the first breakout star in U.S. female boxing. The film will trace Martin's rise to fame and the abuse she faced at the hands of her then-husband, who attempted to murder her. 'Our film is a wild mix of inspiring underdog sports-world story and personal saga," Michôd told W Magazine of the project. Black Bear Pictures, the film's production company, described the film as the "unbelievable true story of formidable Christy Martin, who rose to fame as America's most successful female boxer in the 1990s." When filming on the project wrapped in November, Sweeney wrote on Instagram that it had "been one of the most emotional, transformative experiences of my life." "This story is so much bigger than just a film," she wrote. "It's a testament to resilience, survival, and finding the strength to keep fighting. I can't wait for you all to see it — not only because I'm proud of the transformation and the work I've poured into it, but because Christy's story deserves to be told." While promotions for the film, expected to release later this year, are yet to kick off, the actor-director duo were spotted during the International Boxing Hall of Fame's annual Parade of Champions held over the weekend in Canastota, New York, where Sweeney was the grand marshal. Who is Christy Martin? Christy Martin is one of the most prominent figures in the history of boxing. Hailing from West Virginia, Martin, the daughter of a coal miner, went on to become the first woman signed to a promotional contract by boxing promoter Don King and the first female boxer to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. She competed from 1989 to the mid-2010s and held the World Boxing Council female super welterweight title in 2009. In 2020, Martin was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Martin's life was also affected by personal tragedy. In 2010, she was stabbed, shot and left for dead by her then-husband of 19 years, James Martin. The two married when she was only 24 and he was 49, according to an ESPN profile. He was found guilty of attempted second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison nearly two years later. In 2017, Christy Martin remarried to former boxing rival Lisa Holewyne. "Christy tackled personal demons, toxic relationships, and an attempt on her life, proving that a fighter's hardest won victories aren't always in the ring," Black Bear Pictures said. Contributing: Taijuan Moorman, Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@ and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
San Francisco Chronicle
4 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs keeping his discussions with team about viral boat video private
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — New England Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs declined to share specifics about his conversations with coach Mike Vrabel and the team in the aftermath of a viral video that showed him passing what appeared to be a bag of pink crystals to women on a boat last month. 'Obviously, I want to be as candid with you guys as possible. I kind of have this thing where I don't talk about my personal life with people I don't know personally," Diggs said Tuesday following the team's final minicamp practice. "I'm pretty sure everybody here, men and women, are great people. But I kind of keep my personal life personal.' Tuesday marked the first time Diggs had spoken with reporters since videos were posted online of him chatting with three women before producing the substance. It wasn't clear what the substance was. An NFL spokesman said previously that the league would not comment, and Vrabel said the team would handle the matter internally. 'Obviously, it's a conversation that's happening internal. I can't really get into too much of the conversation about it," Diggs said. "The conversation I had with (Vrabel) and the people in the building is going to handled internal, in-house.' Diggs missed multiple optional team workouts this spring, but was present for the next one following the release of the video. He also was present for the Patriots' mandatory minicamp practices on Monday and Tuesday. Vrabel canceled a third practice originally scheduled for Wednesday. Diggs, 31, has attended multiple events this offseason with hip-hop star Cardi B — including the Met Gala and a Boston Celtics-New York Knicks playoff game. It has created an even bigger spotlight on the 10-year NFL veteran since he signed with the Patriots this offseason as a free agent, getting a three-year, $69 million deal that guarantees him $26 million. The four-time Pro Bowl selection posted six straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons for the Vikings and Bills before he was traded from Buffalo to Houston last spring. He had 47 catches for 496 yards and three touchdowns in eight games for the Texans before he tore the ACL in his right knee in October. 'I'm grinding each and every day," he said. "Obviously, I can't do too much of the team stuff. But I'm eager to get out there, so whenever they do press the button I'm going to be ready. I'm trying, though." He did line up at times with the first-team offense on Tuesday as it installed new plays. But he wasn't allowed to participate in any full-speed drills, instead doing individual work with trainers. But it hasn't lessened his resolve to be cleared for full contact. "I'm confident. I've kind of took my rehab pretty serious," Diggs said. 'In beginning phases I wasn't as confident, but I was trying it out. ... When I came back here, I was in a mindset of I'm trying to get after and get going. But it's kind of like a dog on a leash, you want to hold it back a little bit, especially because I want to go. But it's the timing of everything and I'm looking forward to training camp.' ___
