Zaya Wade has achieved an empowering milestone in living her truth. According to legal documents obtained by E! News, a Los Angeles Court granted a legal name and gender change for the 15-year-old, who is the daughter of Dwyane Wade and ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches-Wade.
In August 2022, Dwyane petitioned the court on Zaya’s behalf to legally change the name and gender of the teen, who came out as transgender in 2020. The following November, her mother filed her own papers asking the judge to deny the request.
“I have concerns that [Dwyane] may be pressuring our child to move forward with the name and gender change in order to capitalize on the financial opportunities that he has received from companies,” Siohvaughn—who also shares son Zaire Wade, 21, with Dwyane—stated in the docs obtained by E! News, “and will receive based upon [Dwyane’s] statements to me, on the basis of our child’s name and/or gender change.”
Siohvaughn asked in the documents that Zaya decide on legally changing her name and gender “at the age of majority.”
Dwyane—who also shares daughter Kaavia, 4, with wife Gabrielle Union, and Xavier, 9, with Aja Metoyer—noted in another court filing that “granting the Petition is in Zaya’s best interest,” adding, “While it certainly would have been preferable for Zaya’s mother to be supportive of this important part of Zaya’s journey, Zaya should not be forced to put her life on hold while she waits for Siohvaughn to acknowledge and accept her truth.”
The retired NBA star also noted that while he has the authority to make final decisions about the teen because he has sole custody of her, he sought his ex’s input on the matter of the name and gender change before filing the petition.
Dwyane also previously wrote on Instagram, “No one in our house would ever force Zaya or any of our children to do anything against their will, much less force an identity on them,” adding, “This isn’t a game for my family and definitely not for Zaya. This is her life!”
E! News reached out to Siohvaughn’s team for comment, but did not hear back.
Since Zaya came out, Dwyane has been open about being a safe space for her. Recalling the time she came home and told him and Gabrielle that she would like to use the name Zaya and “she” and “her” pronouns, the athlete shared that he was in awe of his child. He recalled during a 2020 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, “I looked at her and said, ‘You are our leader. You are our leader and this is our opportunity to allow you to be a voice.'”
Dwyane added of himself and Gabrielle, “We take our roles and responsibility as parents very seriously.”
Source: eonline
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