Blending families is never easy, even when you’re a former NBA superstar and your partner is one of Hollywood’s most beloved actresses. Dwyane Wade recently sat down as guest co-host on Today with Jenna and Friends and opened up about what it was like to first introduce Gabrielle Union to his kids.

“Introducing her to the kids would be the biggest step,” Wade shared candidly on the talk show. “Because you know, when it’s you and you, like it’s great. And now you got to enter the kids into the relationship, and that was a little difficult because they were so young. And you don’t know the right time, you don’t know the right verbiage.”

Wade, shares Zaire (23) and Zaya (18) with ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches, Xavier (11) with Aja Metoyer, and daughter Kaavia (6) with Union. Wade also serves as legal guardian to his nephew Dahveon (21). 

When asked if he waited to introduce Gabrielle until he knew she was “the one,” Wade said yes, but there were no perfect conditions when you’re living life in the spotlight. “My kids are so a part of my life and I went through a very public custody battle with my kids as well,” he explained. “And so they kind of just like came with me. So it was kind of like, alright, stepmom.”

And while Union didn’t exactly sign up for that role at the start, Wade revealed they tried to make it as low-key as possible. “If you saw the sign that we put up when I proposed to her, it said ’Nickie,’” he said, referencing Union’s middle name, Monique. “I kind of introduced her as Nickie, as like, okay her family calls her this and not Gabrielle Union, the actress, that they probably had some previous conversations in their ear about.”

Fast forward to now, and Union is not just a wife, but a true partner in parenting, especially when it comes to daughter, Zaya. “She’s been incredible. And you know, especially Zaya was so young. Zaya was about three years old at the time and now she’s 18,” Wade said. “To be able to grow with each other, it’s kind of like her first kid.”

It’s safe to say that what started off “rough” evolved into something beautiful. Because this is truly one of the world’s favorite families to watch. 

Photo Credit: Dwyane Wade Instagram; Today with Jenna and Friends Instagram