Siohvaughn Funches is the first wife of Dwyane Wade, who is currently residing with her family in a city not close to her former husband.
Meanwhile, the former basketball champion Dwyane lives with his current partner Gabrielle Union in his mansion in Los Angeles.
The NBA star Dwayne was named Sportsman of the Year in 2006 and had helped lead the Heat to their first NBA championship in franchise history.
At the beginning of his career, Wade joined the basketball team at Marquette University but could not play due to his low test scores.
However, he didn’t let this stop him from playing the game; he stayed by the team’s side and advised them on defense and scoring. He worked hard in school in the years that followed.
Later, he became the best player on his team, averaging around 17 points per game, leading his team to the Conference USA championship and a spot in the NCAA tournament’s final four.
Throughout his 16-year career, he spent most of it with the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he won three NBA championships. He was a 13-time NBA All-Star, an 8-time All-NBA selection, and a three-time All-Defensive Team selection.
Where Is Dwyane Wade’s First Wife Siohvaughn Funches Today?
Dwyane Wade’s First Wife, Siohvaughn Funches, currently resides in the United States with her family. Wade and Funches have moved on with their lives since their divorce.
Funches now works in business as a published author and the president of a non-profit organization. She has thus written two inspirational books, The True Story for God’s Glory: The Life of Siohvaughn L. Funches Wade in 2016 and You Gotta Let God Finish! in 2018. These books are based on her long battle with her ex-husband and how God helped her to persevere.
Siohvaughn has also established the A Woman’s Worth Foundation, a non-profit organization. It is a safe shelter for women and children who have experienced domestic violence. She was inspired to start the foundation after her alleged experience at the hands of her previous husband.
In addition, she has received numerous honors and awards, including the Honourable Edward J. Henning Memorial Award and the Supreme Court Justice Leah Ward Sears Award.
NBA Star Dwayne Wade And His Former Married Life With Siohvaughn Funches
Funches and Dwayne were high school sweethearts. They first met in fifth grade, about 10 and 11. They became fast friends and remained so throughout high school.
Siohvaughn began dating Wade at 15, but she already had a job, a car, and an income. As a result, she was pretty self-sufficient and provided solace for Wade, who was dealing with a difficult home life that included a drug addict mother and a strict father.
Similarly, the couple had little and had to live in a small one-bedroom apartment. However, they were so in love that they married in their third year of high school, in 2022. They didn’t have many resources because Wade hadn’t yet made it into the NBA.
They Had Two Children- A Son And A Daughter
Dwayne and Siohvaughn had their first child, a son named Zaire Blessing Wade, before getting married. Their joy was heightened when Wade was drafted into the NBA the following year, in 2003.
Later, in 2007, the couple welcomed their second child, Zion (now Zaya). After his daughter, Zaya, revealed her identity, Wade’s proved her immense support privately and publicly. In the interview with People, the proud father spoke candidly about loving and supporting all of his children precisely as they are.
Former Basketball Divorced Dragged For Three Years For Custody Of Their Kids
Dwayne and Siohvaughn’s divorce was lengthy because the couple fought over custody of their children, with both sides claiming primary guardianship. The divorce battle lasted four years, during which Funches changed lawyers 13 times.
Wade was later granted primary custody of the children, while Funches was granted visitation rights. The NBA player was also ordered to provide his ex-wife with other monthly financial benefits, including $10,000 for living and travel expenses and $25,000 in spousal support.
Funches was dissatisfied with the decision to give her husband sole custody. So she attempted to kidnap her children and accused Wade of being a negligent father for failing to provide vital asthma medication for their son in 2013.
Siohvaughn Funches Claims Of Having A History Of Being Homeless After The Divorce
Funches claims that her ex-husband Wade has put her out after gaining sole custody of their children. She was spotted in Chicago holding a sign claiming to be homeless, and the sign read, “NBA Miami heart star mother of his street children.”
She also filed a lawsuit against Wade, claiming he earned more money in endorsements to which she was entitled. Later, as part of the divorce settlement, Siohvaughn received a million dollars from Wade’s former mansion in Holland.
Dwayne Wade First Met His New Wife Gabrielle Union At A Super Bowl Party
Dawayne met Gabrielle at a Super Bowl party in 2007, just a few months after his divorce from his previous wife. According to E! News, sparks were scarcely flying when the two first met.
Union and Wade began dating in 2009 but did not publicly appear together until July 2010. The couple posed for photos at the Summer Groove Benefit Dinner in Hollywood, Florida.
Two days later, at Wade’s All-Star basketball game at Miami’s American Airlines Arena, the couple was seen engaging in courtside PDA. According to People, the couple married on August 30, 2014, in an intimate wedding in Miami, surrounded by their family and friends.
The couple posted pictures of their three-part honeymoon on Instagram just one day after getting married. They first spent time on a “deserted island” in the Maldives before going on safari in Africa’s Serengeti. The Seychelles islands were their final stop.
Dwyane Wade Is The Father Of Another Child From Gabrielle Union
Moreover, Union and Wade welcomed their first child together via surrogate on November 7, 2018. The couple shared adorable photos of their daughter, Kaavia James, on Instagram after she was born.
Union told Oprah Winfrey in December 2018 that she wanted her daughter to understand how much she was loved, desired, protected, and nurtured. She also wanted her to know everything that went into bringing her into this world, which is usually around when she starts talking back.
He Comes From Struggling Family Background
Wade’s life was not always comfortable. He was born into a low-income family in Chicago. In 2018, he told CNBC Make It that he had gone 20 years without having anything.
Wade has stated in multiple interviews that he had a troubled childhood and that his neighborhood was more of a crime ghetto than a livable place. He was four months old when his parents divorced, and his grandmother and elder sister raised him after his parents divorced.
Moreover, his father could make a decent living, so he and Wade moved to the suburbs. Wade, who was eight years old at the time, missed his mother, but he now admits that she wasn’t a good mother and was a drug addict.
Wade has achieved his current status through a lot of effort and struggle.