She has continued to balance her busy acting career with wife and mother in recent years.
But Gabrielle Union admitted that her kids didn’t always want her to try to balance her career with her family life.
The 48-year-old LA’s Finest star told Gwyneth Paltrow on a recent episode of The Goop Podcast that her kids thought she ‘shouldn’t work anymore’ because of the money her husband Dwyane Wade brought in.
Working Mother: Gabrielle Union, 48, told Gwyneth Paltrow on a recent episode of The Goop Podcast that her children ever wanted her to stop working because her husband Dwyane Wade was “rich” enough; seen in February 2020
“They had gotten into this stage as a pre-teen years, where they just wanted us to be like other families,” Gabrielle explained.
‘They looked up how much their daddy was making and they thought I shouldn’t work – I should just be home like the other mothers of their friends because’ Daddy is rich and you should just stay at home and we should be a normal family just like everyone.”‘
She added that she thought the kids felt a sense of ‘relief’ after she and Dwyane got married in 2014, after four years of dating, although they still wanted the traditional family dynamics they’d seen in some of their families. friends.
“They just wanted to be normal, whatever that is,” she continued. By the time we got married, it was just relief to them, which isn’t always an emotion you associate with children in this situation. And they said, “Ah, we’re a normal family! Wait. You’re leaving. And Daddy’s still rich, so what’s going on here?” ‘
Strikingly, “They had gotten to this stage as pre-teens, where they just wanted us to be like other families,” explained Gabrielle.
Conform: She said her older stepchildren saw friends whose mothers stayed at home and didn’t work
Gabrielle had to explain to her children that women can have goals and passions that go beyond their family.
“Sometimes women want to work and have a career and just do other things, and this is what makes me who I am,” she told them. “It doesn’t mean I love you any less, or that I don’t want the job or that I don’t like being your stepmother.” ‘
She added, “” I’ll do my best to be here for all the things you want me to be here [for] while at the same time ensuring that there is room for mom or dad. It is always the golden place of honor. And we’re just going that way. ”
She had the most problems with her oldest stepchildren, Dwyane’s son Zaire, now 19, daughter Zaya, 13, and his cousin Dahveon Morris, 19, who lives with them.
They also raise Dwyane’s seven-year-old son from a previous relationship Xavier Zechariah, and Gabrielle and the basketball star share a two-year-old daughter named Kaavia James, who was born through a surrogate.
Different Strokes: “Sometimes women want to work and have a career and just do other things, and this is what makes me who I am,” Gabrielle told her children. Gwyneth admitted she also struggled as a new stepmother, although she was lucky the kids were the same age as hers
Big family: The Bring It On Star married Dwyane Wade, 39, in 2014, Gabrielle had the most problems with her oldest stepchildren, Dwyane’s son Zaire, now 19, daughter Zaya, 13, and his cousin Dahveon Morris, 19, who lives with them
Younger children: They also raise Dwyane’s seven-year-old son Xavier, and Gabrielle and the sportswoman share a two-year-old daughter named Kaavia, who was born through a surrogate
The Bring It On Star married Wade, 39, in 2014.
Elsewhere on the podcast, Gabrielle admitted that she had used her family experiences with her stepmother to guide how to be a good stepparent.
She said she was “trying to do the opposite of what I thought my stepmother did wrong or could have done better.”
She said her biological parents, Sylvester and Theresa, were ‘amicably’ divorced after 30 years together, and Sylvester later took a new wife.
She urged new stepparents to share their true selves with their stepchildren.
“ Whoever you are, just be consistent so everyone can get used to who you really are and you don’t do an act and then the mask falls off, ” she insisted.
She also couldn’t say strongly enough that she stayed “above the fray” and said nothing negative about the other biological parent to the children.
Pride: Gabrielle admitted she is doing ‘the opposite’ of what her own stepmother did in many situations, while trying to raise her kids with Dwyane