Gabrielle Union’s Raw Insights on Surrogacy: “I’ll Never Find Peace with It, Ever

Gabrielle Union, alongside her husband Dwyane Wade, welcomed their daughter Kaavia James through surrogacy in November 2018. At the time, Union was 46 while Wade was 36.

Although Kaavia’s birth was a source of immense joy, Union recently opened up about the emotional toll that the surrogacy journey had on her. In an interview with Marie Claire, she expressed, “I’ll never have peace with it, ever.

It’s such a personal journey that I may never know full peace with the coulda, woulda, shouldas.”

Now six years old, Kaavia is thriving, and Union has voiced her gratitude toward the gestational caregiver. However, she candidly shared her feelings of inadequacy regarding the surrogacy process.

“For me, it felt like failure. My body failed.

It just felt like such a f—— public humiliation,” she remarked. Union has faced a long battle with infertility, experiencing numerous IVF failures and about eight or nine miscarriages.

She described surrogacy as a complicated experience, stating, “It felt like a cuckold; watching somebody do something I can’t do. To be there for somebody else succeeding where I failed — it is a mind f— for people who have had my journey.” Despite knowing that some individuals may judge her decision, she has largely received a supportive response.

“Nobody has the balls to say that s— to my face,” Union noted, reflecting on how her candid attitude might influence the reactions she gets. Union acknowledges that her parenting style is grounded in common sense and compassion.

Regardless of how children enter her life, including her three stepchildren from Wade’s previous relationships, she feels fulfilled as a mother. Ultimately, she declares that becoming a parent has given her “unmitigated joy.”