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Zaya Wade is officially 16 years old! The daughter of Dwyane Wade celebrated her birthday on May 29, and her father, along with her bonus mom Gabrielle Union, took to Instagram to commemorate the occasion with heartwarming throwback photos.
Accompanying the images, the NBA All-Star and actress captioned, “6Teen” and “16” , respectively.
Zaya courageously came out as transgender in February 2020, and she has received unwavering support from Union, Wade, and their entire family throughout her journey. In their acceptance speech at the 54th NAACP Image Awards, where they were honored with the prestigious President’s Award, Union and Wade emphasized their commitment to advocating for Zaya and others like her. Dwyane took a moment to directly address his daughter, expressing his admiration for her resilience in the face of public scrutiny.
“I want to take this moment to publicly speak to our daughter Zaya. Zaya, as your father, all I’ve wanted to do is get it right. I have sat back and watched how gracefully you’ve taken on the public scrutiny. And even though it’s not easy, I’ve watched you walk out of the house every morning as yourself,” he said.
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As her father, Dwyane acknowledged that his role is not to shape Zaya into his own image or dictate her future but to serve as a facilitator for her aspirations, desires, and dreams.
“I admire how you’ve handled the ignorance in our world. To say that your village is proud of you is an understatement,” he continued. “Thank you for showing me that there is more than just one way to communicate you’ve taught me that communicating with my mouth isn’t enough. I have to communicate with my ears and my two eyes. As your father, my job isn’t to create a version of myself or direct your future. My role is to be a facilitator to your wishes, your hopes, and your dreams. Zaya you’ve made me a better human by simply being who you were born to be: our baby girl, Zaya Wade. Thank you for showing the world what courage looks like. I am proud that I was chosen to stand in place as your father.”
Photos: Instagram
