Zaya Wade gave an inside look at her relationship with dad Dwyane Wade and how they bond while binge-watching Heartstopper together.
Zaya Wade has a full-court bond with her father Dwyane Wade.
And the father-daughter duo has put their teamwork on display with the launch of Translatable—a online community of support, information, and resources for LQBTQIA+ youth and their families. But it’s their at-home bond and his advocacy through her journey as a trans woman that’s really a slam dunk.
“As an African American male, to be so openly and outwardly accepting,” Zaya, 17, gushed about her dad to Seventeen in an interview published Feb. 24. “Because honestly, him being raised in a traditional Black household in Chicago…the culture there isn’t very queer-friendly. I hope that it will continue to inspire people to allow themselves to learn and understand queerness before bashing it.”
In fact, Zaya and Dwyane—who in addition to sharing the teen and Zaire, 23, with ex Siovaughn Funches, is also dad to nephew Dahveon, 21, son Xavier, 11, from a previous relationship and his and Gabrielle Union’s daughter Kaavia, 6, have bonded over a popular queer Netflix series.
“I love a binge-watch. And this is really cute,” Zaya explained. “My dad and I watch Heartstopper together. He texted me one night, ‘I want to do movie night with you. Come down in one hour.’ He set up candy and popcorn. I was scared because you know when your parents ask you to watch something, you’re like, ‘Ah, here we go.’”
“But then he said, ‘This new show came out, Heartstopper,’ and I was like, ‘Oh my god!’ It’s very queer, so of course I’d heard about it,” she continued. “When I tell you it was 1 in the morning and we were on episode 8 of 9…Every time a new one comes out, there’s a text message, ‘Oh my god, the new Heartstopper just dropped.’”
Zaya and the retired NBA star love the show so much, that she called him in the middle of fashion week after having a brief run in with the series lead Kit Connor that left her “starstruck.”
“That’s our thing,” she gushed. “We’re such big fans.”
And while he’s the cool dad when it comes to picking TV shows, Zaya admitted that she has to call him and her stepmother, Gabrielle out when it comes to their social media activity.
“Okay, with my stepmom, it’s the dances she posts,” Zaya noted. “She does them tastefully, but I want to text her so badly and be like, ‘Girl.’ My dad, at the end of the day, he is a man. He’s just always going to give man and honestly, as an entire gender, they embarrass me.”
“So, when my dad shows up to a party and he’s wearing a suit and he has no undershirt on, it’s like, ‘What are you doing,’” she added. “And when he posts on his Instagram and he’s fully shirtless, I’m like, ‘No. No. No.’ You have children on this app.”
And Zaya has no problem shutting down their online behavior.
“Sometimes my friends will be like, ‘What did I just witness on your father’s Instagram,’” she said. “And I’m like, ‘Hold up, I’ll fix it. Don’t worry.’ I just have to laugh.”
Keep reading for more of Dwyane’s moments with Zaya and the family…
All in the Family
Dwyane Wade celebrated the final game in his NBA career with Gabrielle Union and their daughter Kaavia Wade in 2019. The Miami Heats player was also joined by his nephew Dahveon Morris, his kids Zaire Wade and Zaya Wade (with ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches) and son Xavier Wade (with ex Aja Metoyer) for the momentous occasion.
Perfect Match
Gabrielle and Dwyane proved they go together like peanut butter and jelly on Halloween 2023. Meanwhile, their daughter Kaavia dressed up as Cinderella.
Bring On the Silly
The Bring It On actress snapped silly selfies with Kaavia on Mother’s Day 2023.
Like Father, Like Son
Dwyane’s oldest son Zaire captioned this 2022 photo of his dad holding up his Salt Lake City Stars jersey: “Leave a legacy.”
Teenage Milestones
Dwyane and Gabby send Zaya, who the former NBA star shares with ex Siovaughn Funches, off to her school’s winter formal in January 2023.
“Supporting each other for life’s big moments is key,” the couple wrote in an Instagram post. “All the nerves, all the anxiety, all the fear… With loved ones by your side, no matter the challenge, we 10 toes down. Always.”
“See @kaaviajames mama’s got hair like yours,” Gabrielle shared on Instagram in 2020. “When I took my braids out she was like… now mom & baby both rocking their natural curls.”
While attending the 2019 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Sports Awards, the couple’s daughter Kaavia made her award show debut. Spoiler alert: She was a total pro.
After celebrating Thanksgiving as a family, Dwyane took to Twitter to slam Internet trolls who had some not-so-nice comments.
“I’ve seen some post-thanksgiving hate on social about my family photo,” he shared online. “Stupidity is apart of this world we live in—so i get it. But here’s the thing—I’ve been chosen to lead my family not y’all. So we will continue to be us and support each other with pride, love & a smile!”
Snuggle Season
Gabrielle rang in her 50th birthday in 2022 with snuggles from Dwyane and Kaavia.
Sweet 16
The couple are all smiles as they celebrate Zaya’s 16th birthday in May 2023.
When it was time to celebrate Halloween 2019, Gabrielle and Dwyane knew just the look to pull off with their baby girl.
But wait, there’s more! The proud parents also transformed into another theme with their daughter Zaya.
Dwyane praised Zaya amid criticism from online trolls.
“First of all, if you want to talk about strength and courage, my 12-year-old has way more than I have,” he shared on the All the Smoke podcast in 2019. “You can learn something from your kids. In my household, man, that’s all we talk about. We talk about making sure our kids are seen by each of us, me and my wife, We talk about making sure our kids understand the power in their voice.”
Ultimate Defenders
After Gabrielle was fired from America’s Got Talent in 2019, Dwyane absolutely had his wife’s back. “‘Men lie, Women lie, numbers don’t,’” he shared on Twitter after the news broke. “Over this past year I’ve been approaching by many people saying that my wife @itsgabrielleu is the main reason they’ve started watching #AGT or that they love her insight and sincerity on the show.”
Source: www.eonline.com