Gabrielle UnionandDwyane Wadewere the pictures of proud parents when recently, their 13-year-old daughter Zaya had a one-on-oneZoom with none other than Michelle Obama.
“We were all bawling!” recalls Union, 48. “She was so amazing and dynamic, and to be able to hold your own withMichelle Obama, it was so impactful.”
Zaya has been impactful in more ways than onesince she came out as transgenderlast year, a positive voice for youths living their authentic lives.
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Gabrielle Union/Instagram
Zaya was just 3 years old when Wade and Union say they began discussing “possibilities” within her future. And “we decided to approach it a different way,” says Wade. “I come from a locker room of a macho, male-dominant sport. But I started learning and I started to watch her. And from then on we started having more conversations.”
Eventually, when Zaya came out as trans, first to her family before the world, “I didn’t have many resources, so I just reached out to everyone I knew from social media,” recalls Union. “Everyone responded with love, resources and information.”
But Union says they were realistic about the process — and a learning curve.
“We weren’t coming into it like it’s got to be our way,” she says. “We’re going to mess up. We’re going to say the wrong thing. But we had to learn and be led.”
Listen to more of PEOPLE’s cover story interview with Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade below on ourdaily podcast PEOPLE Every Day!
Today, the couple, both vocal activists in the LGBTQ+ community through their Wade Family Foundation, are unequivocal about what is acceptable and what they’ll never tolerate when it comes to the safety of their family members.
Dwyane Wade, Zaya Wade and Gabrielle Union.Andrew Toth/Getty
Nino Munoz
“Our home will never be a safe space for bigots,” says Union. “I look at problematic language as violence and I’m never going to expose anyone I love to violence, whether that be verbal, physical, emotional or spiritual. Jerks exist in every area of life. And we function from a place of truth in our household. But if you come at us, oh, be very prepared.”
Ultimately, Wade and Union, wed since 2014, lead with love. “We want to make sure [our kids] feel strong and supported and free to be exactly who they are,” says Union.
Adds Wade: “What I love about our home is that everybody is unique. And we allow their uniqueness to shine.”
For more from Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade, pick up the latest issue ofPEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
source: people.com
