Gabrielle Union reveals how she conquered her fear of being a ‘bad mom’

Gabrielle Union has revealed how she conquered her fear of being a “bad mom” after welcoming her now-four-year-old daughter, Kaavia, with husband Dwyane Wade.

The 50-year-old actor shared her candid thoughts about motherhood during a recent interview with E! News leading up to the release of her BET+ show, Gabrielle Union: My Journey to 50. She noted that her bond with her daughter has grown over the years, before acknowledging the concerns she had when she first became a parent.

“I was afraid of being a bad mom, of not living up to the great moms that I grew up with,” she said. “I didn’t want my lack of understanding or knowledge on every single thing to leave this gaping hole in [Kaavia’s] life.”

She went on to describe how her approach to parenting has changed, as she realised something that she has in common with fellow mothers.

“I was probably a little more timid, initially when she was very young,” Union said. “And as I got more confidence, I’m like: ‘Oh, we’re all winging it? We’re just doing the best we can.’”

Union also said that her confidence as a mother grew when she took a trip to Africa with Kaavia as part of her new show.

“I don’t get just two weeks of time with anybody, not even myself really,” she said. “It gave me even more confidence to trust that, maybe, I’m solid at this, and I’m raising happy, healthy, free, Black girls.”

Along with being a mother to Kaavia, the Bring It On star is also a stepparent, as Wade shares two children, Zaire, 21, and Zaya, 15, with ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches, and nine-year-old son, Xavier, with Aja Metoyer.

Speaking to E News! Union described motherhood as “one of the best things [she’s] ever done in [her]life”. After revealing her four-year-old has “big, big opinions,” she also joked that she and her husband are” just waiting for [their daughter] to tell [them] what’s really the tea, ‘cause she has it”.

This is not the first time that Union has reflected on her experience as mother. During an interview with Extra in March, she revealed what she wanted parents to gain from her and Wade’s NAACP Image Awards speech about Zaya, who came out as transgender in 2020.

“That your kids are worth fighting for,” she said. “Your children are not disposable and even when faced with something that you might not be as familiar with or comfortable with [it is] not an excuse to throw your kids away.”

Elsewhere in her interview with E! News, Union opened up about her close relationship with her family, as she noted that her younger sisters live with her, her husband, and their children. She also praised the “village” that she and Wade have, as their respective mothers also live nearby.

“We have committed to raising free girls, but we all have to be on board,” she explained, “Which meant a lot of us got back into therapy to really get over some of the things that we didn’t heal from in our childhoods, that we started subconsciously passing onto [Kaavia].”

Union continued: “We have to heal first so we can be better village members for her, for Zaya, for ourselves, for each other’s children. ‘Cause we don’t have to pass on every single thing and that is our responsibility to cut those cords when we are made aware.”