“It just felt like such a f*cking public humiliation.” That’s how Gabrielle Union described her experience with surrogacy, and the raw honesty behind those words is gut-wrenching.
Gabrielle Union is laying bare her soul in a new interview, and her words about welcoming her daughter Kaavia James via surrogacy after years of heartbreaking IVF struggles are raw and honest.
She didn’t sugarcoat a single thing, admitting that the journey felt like a profound “public humiliation.”
In a new interview with Marie Claire, the Being Mary Jane star pulled back the curtain on her deeply personal fertility struggles. While many know her as a powerhouse actress, wife, and mom to 6-year-old Kaavia James, few fully grasp the emotional toll it took to bring her daughter into the world.
Surrogacy, for some, is a miracle. For Gabrielle, it was a mental and emotional battlefield.
“It felt like a cuckold, watching somebody do something I can’t do,” she admitted, reflecting on the moment she realized her body wouldn’t carry the child she’d long dreamed of. “To be there for somebody else succeeding where I failed. It is a mind f*ck.”
In 2016, a physician informed Union that her highest likelihood of achieving a successful pregnancy would be through surrogacy, a route she has previously discussed and elaborated on in her 2021 memoir, “You Got Anything Stronger.”
Gabrielle and NBA legend Dwyane Wade welcomed Kaavia in 2018 after years of heartbreaking IVF attempts and endless hope. Union has always been transparent about the behind-the-scenes pain, but this is perhaps the rawest we’ve seen her yet.
The emotional strain continued beyond that. Assisting the surrogate throughout her pregnancy presented its own challenges, a constant reminder of what she had once viewed as her personal failures.
And while some critics have plenty to say about the surrogacy route, Gabrielle isn’t here for the judgment. In fact, she’s done explaining herself.
“I think I lead with an ‘I don’t give a f**k’ attitude,” she told Marie Claire. “If I had the ability to do this myself, I would’ve. Your baby’s here, and your baby’s awesome. My baby’s here, and my baby’s awesome.”
