Gabrielle Union Says She Relies on Her "Village" to Raise Her Five Kids

For Gabrielle Union, it really does take a "village" to raise children—especially five children.

The Bring It On star is a doting stepmom to her husband Dwyane Wade's children Zaire, 23, Dahveon, 21, Zaya, 17, and Xavier, 11, and mom to 6-year-old Kaavia.

Over the years, she's learned that she and Wade don't need to do everything themselves amid their busy careers and lives, as she explained to Marie Claire as part of a cover story for our Motherhood Issue.

"I felt much more conflicted about my lack of balance with Zaire and Dahveon because their needs were just different and they needed me to be physically present," Union explains.

"But there's no balance. I can't work in Atlanta 12 to 16 hours a day and think that I can have balance when I'm flying in on the weekends. Now I rely heavily on our village and there is zero shame in that."

Expanding on who exactly makes up the family's village, she says, "Not only do we have their long-term nanny, we’ve had mannies, we have family members, we have aunties, we have tutors, teachers, therapists. It's all hands on deck.

"A lot of us have deep shame about that. But there is no balance. I had to give myself a ton of grace and be like, I can't do it. I'm not even going to attempt having some kind of balance when none exists."

Union has been named as one of our Power Moms, alongside Deepika Padukone and Kali Uchis, among others.

In many ways, the star has set the standard not only for raising a happy, healthy blended family, but also for how to be an accepting parent to an LGBTQ+ child.

Her daughter Zaya came out as trans when she was 12 years old, and Union has spent the intervening years being her biggest supporter at home and in the public eye.

"It's who my child was born to be, who her soul dictates she is," she says about Zaya.

"It's my job to keep her safe and protected and educated and loved; and I can love her up in such a way that she can find community that exists outside of us for the rest of her life."