Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade are recalling the first time they met.
On the July 10 episode of TODAY with Jenna & Friends, the celebrity couple said they met during an NBA All-Star Weekend when Union mistook Wade, who was a rookie at the time, for one of her friends.
“The first time we interacted at all, I ran up to him from behind and grabbed him up and I was like, ‘Ahh,'” Union said, demonstrating a bear hug.
However, once he turned around, Union said she realized that she had grabbed the wrong person.
“He turned around and it was not my friend. And I said, ‘Oh you’re not him,” she added.
While Union said she didn’t know who Wade was, the now retired NBA star said he recognized her right away.
“I turned around, like, ‘Oh Gabrielle Union from ‘Bring It On,'” he said.
“And I was like, ‘Oh, sorry, I’m so sorry.’ I walked away,” Union added.
The duo ended up crossing paths again years later at a Super Bowl party they co-hosted. Union explained that while dancing with Patti LaBelle, she noticed that the singer’s wig needed to be adjusted so she offered to take her to the bathroom to fix it. On her way there, she spotted Wade hanging out with his friends.
“At the top of the stairs, right by the bathroom, he was waiting, and I said, Oh, we’re hosting this party together. It’s nice to meet you,” Union said.
“And so we talked. We talked for most of the night,” Wade added.
Union noted that one of her exes was also at the party “dancing “hard.” Comparing her ex with Wade, the actor said Wade, who is younger than her, stood out because he was “so sweet and quiet and kind.”
“A vibe connoisseur,” Wade joked.
Union and Wade ended up getting married in 2014 and the pair are proud parents of their six-year-old daughter, Kaavia. The former Miami Heat player also has two kids, Zaire, 23, and Zaya with his ex-wife, Siohvaughn Funches, and a 11-year-old son, Xavier, with Aja Metoyer.
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