Who Is Dwyane Wade's First Wife, Siohvaughn Funches?
You know Dwyane Wade as husband to Gabrielle Union. But his first wife was Siohvaughn Funches.
Getty These days, you know him as husband to actress Gabrielle Union (formerly married to NBA player Chris Howard), whom he wed in 2014. Also, as one of the big three of the basketball team Miami Heat with Chris Bosh and LeBron James.
But prior to his high-profile second marriage, Wade was married for eight years to his first wife.
Who is Dwyane Wade’s first wife, Siohvaughn Funches?
1. She was his high school sweetheart.
Wade met his first wife Funches while he attended Harold L. Richards High School in Oak Park, Illinois in the late ‘90s. Of course, this was prior to the NBA drafting Wade, which occurred in 2003 following his stint as a college basketball player with Marquette University.
When they met, the couple was young, poor, and their home lives had felt insecure.
She would later recall in her memoir that she once stole a pair of sneakers for Wade by putting "on men's basketball shoes over the top of my own shoes and walking out of the store with them on."
2. Siohvaughn Funches has two children with Dwayne Wade.
Funches and Wade married in 2002 after she gave birth to their first child, Zaire.
Their second child, Zaya, was born in 2007 as Zion Wade. She has since come out as transgender to the outspoken and much-publicized support of her dad.
3. They divorced in 2007.
The divorce was long and acrimonious.
The couple separated in August 2007, a month after Funches gave birth to their second child. But it took years to finalize their eventual divorce — in part because Funches regularly changed attorneys. Wade was awarded sole custody of the children in 2011. Wade's attorney was James B. Pritikin.
As the divorce process wore on, Wade sued Funches for defamation for making claims she eventually took back. Among her claims were those alleging he had been abusive to his children; the court did not find these claims to have merit.
In 2012, Funches was arrested for trying to abduct the couple’s children.
4. Funches got $5 million in the divorce settlement from Wade.
It wasn’t until July 2013 that the former couple finally reached a divorce settlement. In it, Funches got $5 million from Wade (whose net worth is roughly $170 million as of 2021) as well the couple’s mansion and four cars.
As part of the settlement, both were required to agree to a non-disparagement clause.
5. Funches is an author.
In 2016, Funches came out with a 295-page book called "The True Story for God's Glory." The book doesn’t mention her ex-husband by name even once, a decision likely related to their non-disparagement agreement.
The book talks at length about her Christian faith and on her book jacket, she describes herself as "a renowned public speaker.”
In 2018, she also came out with an additional book about faith called "You Gotta Let God Finish!"
6. She has a podcast.
In 2019, Funches launched a podcast called Faith Comes by Hearing, which is positioned as an intimate look into her own life along with practical tools for listeners. It bills the content as an effort to “inspire the world at large and transform people's lives, marriages, and families for the better by sharing [Funches’] life story and the vast wisdom she has gained through her relationship with Jesus and her formal legal and mental health education!”
The podcast description notes Funches as a “renowned public speaker, professional counselor, published author, and loving mother who is committed to sharing the life-transforming truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
7. She runs a nonprofit organization.
Funches founded and heads A Woman's Worth Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit org intended to help women and children survivors of domestic violence.
The website also reveals Funches has a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, a Master's level certification in Professional Counseling, a Doctorate in Theology, and a Juris Doctorate degree. That degree comes from Atlanta's John Marshall Law School, according to her LinkedIn page.
The site also describes her as a diversified businesswoman, with a fashion design business and an alternative dispute resolution firm, The Mediation Matters Firm.
8. Funches is on social media.
Funches is on Instagram at @siohvaughnfuncheswade. She has a small following of just over 13,000 fans. (Compare that to Wade’s 16 million, or Union’s 15.4 million.)
On her feed, she mostly shares updates about her podcast and faith, but she does also share intimate personal and family portraits with her kids.
Alesandra (Alice) Dubin is a Los Angeles-based writer and editor. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.