According to court records, Dwyane Wade’s kid has been granted a formal name change and gender assignment.
According to a judgement filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Zaya’s official name is now Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade, despite the fact that she has gone by that name since 2020. The judge also approved the 15-year-legal old’s transition, which would allow her sex markers on documents to match her gender identity.
Zaya has gotten unwavering support from both her former 41-year-old NBA star father and her 50-year-old stepmother, Gabrielle Union, since coming out as transgender in 2020.
But, Zaya’s mother, Siohvaughn Funches-Wade, said in a court declaration in November that Dwayne was attempting to “profit” off their daughter’s efforts to change her name and gender.
Wade responded to the allegations on Instagram, stating, “I’ve received a social media post about me forcing our 15 year old child to be someone she’s not and to do something against her will. These are serious and harmful allegations that have hurt our children.”
“While none of us are surprised by Siohvaughn’s attempt to fight Zaya’s identity and her unwavering attempt to drag my name through the mud, I’m very disappointed that she continuously find[s] ways of centering herself and HER needs, without regard to her children,” he added.
Continuing his statement, Wade detailed how Funches-Wade, 41, “tried a similar attempt over a decade ago (with equally damaging lies and causing irreparable harm to her children) and 13 lawyers later, I was awarded sole custody of our two kids as an active NBA player.”
“All I ever wanted was to have my parenting time uninterrupted, as I knew that it would be a very difficult time for our kids to navigate their new normal,” he explained.
Wade stated his ex-wife had “the opportunity to reach out to Zaya’s teachers, doctors, and therapists over the years, and even meet her friends, so she could obtain her own understanding of our child’s needs for her LIFE,” but Funches-Wade refused.
Wade initially discussed his teen daughter’s transgender identity on an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2020. Wade mentioned at the time that his child had chosen the name Zaya and to be addressed with she/her pronouns.
Funches-Wade and Wade were married from 2002 to 2010, and they have a 20-year-old son named Zaire Wade in addition to Zaya.
Wade is also dad to 8½-year-old son Xavier Zechariah, whom he shares with ex Aja Metoyer, and 3½-year-old daughter Kaavia James, whom he shares with wife Union. He has also served as the legal guardian of his nephew Dahveon Morris, 21.