How Patti LaBelle Played Matchmaker For Gabrielle Union And Dwyane Wade

As if being the Godmother of Soul didn't keep her busy enough, it sounds like Patti LaBelle also finds time to play Cupid. Back in 2007, the "New Attitude" singer sensed a possible love connection between Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade.

The "Bring It On" star and NBA veteran first crossed paths at a Super Bowl party. At the time, Wade's first marriage was about to end and Union was in a relationship with someone else. On a 2017 episode of "The Late Late Show with James Corden," Union remembered the moment when LaBelle, who was also at the event, dove into matchmaker mode. "I had brought Patti LaBelle — that was my crew at the time — my day one, my OG," Union shared. "So she was like, 'Girl, you better drop that zero and get you a hero,' and so, it was Ms. Patti that nudged me in the direction."

Initially, Union saw their age difference and his relationship drama as red flags. What's more, she found him to be a little too reserved at first. "When I met Dwyane, his "résumé" looked like crap: athlete, going through a divorce, nine years younger than me. None of that screamed, 'Let's have a lasting relationship,'" she told Glamour. 

Patti LaBelle may have been right about Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade, but the relationship didn't start right away. After they met in 2007, Wade and Union went their separate ways for a while. However, after Union went through a particularly rough breakup with an unnamed person, she decided to give Wade a shot. While she wasn't so sure about dating someone nine years her junior, she soon realized that he wasn't as immature as she feared. "Turned out he'd been on his own since he was 15," she said in Glamour. "He had wisdom that comes with facing an insane amount of adversity. He's sweet, funny, honest about his shortcomings."

The pair began dating in 2009 and got married on August 30, 2014. The year before they tied the knot, Wade revealed that he fathered a child with another woman when he and Union were on a break. However, the two weren't ready to give up on their love, and they've been going strong ever since. "I'd like to say we've worked on it," Wade told People in 2021. "It's about learning each other, learning what she wants for her life and for her career and trying to support all those things."