Gabrielle Union and Dwayne Wade definitely aren’t shy about their love for one another, often taking to Instagram—and talk shows and podcasts—to open up about their relationship.

Gabrielle Union and Dwayne Wade met in 2007 at a Super Bowl party they were both tapped to co-host. However, it certainly wasn’t love at first sight—esepcially when you consider the fact that Union was recently divorced and Wade was still with his first wife, with whom he shares two 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren. Additionally, according to E! News, the Think Like a Man star told Essence that she stayed on the opposite side of the room with her crew. “We like to party, and he doesn’t drink at all. He was on the other side of the room holding bible study.”

Seven years later, Union got even more candid about her and Wade’s first encounter, revealing to Glamour, “When I met Dwyane, his ‘résumé’ looked like crap: athlete, going through a divorce, nine years younger than me. None of that screamed, ‘Let’s have a lasting relationship.’” However, after having what she described as a “heart-crushing breakup with yet another immature jerk,” she decided to give him a shot. While Unio was initially spooked by their age gap—she even referred to him as “a fetus” given their nine-year age gap—she revealed that Wade “had wisdom that comes with facing an insane amount of adversity.” Plus, she gushed, “He’s sweet, funny, [and] honest about his shortcomings.”

The power couple posed for the February 2012 cover of Essence together and opened up about their romance. At the time, Wade told the magazine that he and Union were “not rushing it” when it came to tying the knot. “Both of us have been married before, and we understand that if we choose to marry again, we want it to be right. We both took failing at marriage hard. The next time it’s gotta be forever,” he said.

At the beginning of 2013, Union and Wade briefly called it quits. In 2014, the former told Glamour that the split was due to “distance and scheduling.” She continued, “I finished filming [Being Mary Jane], then I flew to Vegas right away to start shooting Think Like a Man Too. I couldn’t take time off, and I missed some quality togetherness we desperately needed … Moving forward, I decided my work schedule has to make sense for our family.”

It was later revealed that, while Union and Wade were temporarily broken up, the latter fathered a son, who was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in November 2013, with Aja Metoyerin. In his ESPN 2020 documentary, D Wade: Life Unexpected, he said that the “hardest thing I’ve ever had to do is man up and tell Gabrielle Union that I’ve had a 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 with somebody else. I couldn’t sleep. I wasn’t eating.” Union herself opened up about the ordeal in her 2021 memoir, “You Got Anything Stronger?” writing that she felt “broken” over the news, which hit especially hard as she had her own infertility struggles.

Around April 2013, Union and Wade decided to get back together—for good, this time! While appearing on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Wade opened up aout the couple’s reunion, despite all that had happened. “At the end of the day, we came back together and said, ‘Listen, we want to continue this. We want to try to continue to get better each day.’ She’s been with me and I’ve been with her all summer long. We’re going strong now.”

Wade made his proposal to Union a family affair by involving his 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren into the process. Union gushed about the big moment to Good Morning America: “They were like, ‘We wanna do a presentation for you.’ They like to do skits and songs and stuff, so we turn around, and they’re like, ‘Okay, we’re ready!’ and I turned back around and all the boys were holding up signs that said, ‘Will you marry us?’ Wade ultimately got down on one knee and asked Union to marry him with a gorgeous 8.5-carat cushion-cut diamond.

Less than two months after getting engaged, Union appeared on the Arsenio Hall Show and revealed that she asked Wade to sign a prenuptial agreement. “When you have your own stuff, you don’t need to worry about anyone else’s stuff. So everyone should go into the relationship knowing, ‘I’m here for you and you’re here for me.’ And the reality is I’ve never seen Dwyane balance a checkbook, so I gotta protect my stuff. It’s the wave of the future,” she said.

Just over three years after saying “I do,” Union opened up about her infertility issues, which she had been silently struggling with for years. In her book, We’re Going to Need More Wine, Union shared that she had experienced “eight or nine miscarriages” as a result of a uterine condition called adenomyosis. “For three years, my body has been a prisoner of trying to get pregnant—I’ve either been about to go into an IVF cycle, in the middle of an IVF cycle, or coming out of an IVF cycle,” she wrote.

After wade’s daughter, Zaya, came out as transgender, both he and Union supported her both publicly and privately. In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Wade shared, “Zaya, our 12-year-old, came home and said, ‘Hey, so I want to talk to you guys. I think going forward, I’m ready to live my truth. And I want to be referenced as she and her. I’d love for you guys to call me Zaya.’” That same month, Wade told PEOPLE, “As I’m raising [Zaya], as I’m raising my kids, you just try to put them in the best situations to be able to succeed in life.” He continued, “How I do that, and how me and my wife decide to do that, may be different than another family, but we want them to know there’s always unconditional love, that it will always be support.” Wade, meanwhile, took to Twitter (now X) to share the news, writing: “Meet Zaya. She’s compassionate, loving, whip-smart and we are so proud of her. It’s OK to listen to, love & respect your 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren exactly as they are. Love and light good people.”

In May 2021, Union and Wade debuted their 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren’s book, Shady Baby, to the world. The book is inspired by their daughter, Kaavia James. At the time, in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE, Union shared that the couple “wanted to create a 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren’s book that not only had a little Black girl as the main character but that also reflects the global community we live in.”

While appearing on the Kelly Clarkson Show together, Union and Wade poked fun at their relationship pet peeves. Wade went first and shared that his wife’s backseat driving can drive him a little nuts, while Union teased her husband about his snoring.

While appearing on the Black Millionaires podcast in May 2023, Union shared that she and Wade “split everything fifty-fifty.” A month later, Wade echoed these sentiments on the Club Shay Shay podcast, in which he revealed that their set-up was inspired by a conversation the couple had when they were living in Miami. “I said something about it being my house that I paid for. My wife looked at me and said, You will never say that to me again when it’s something that we share.’” He continued, “So when we moved to [Los Angeles], my wife said, ‘I got half on it, you will never say my house again — you can say that in the arena!’”