Love off the court! Gabrielle Union, Ayesha Curry, Jordyn Woods and more stars have settled down with professional basketball players over the years.
The Bring It On actress, for her part, met Dwyane Wade in 2007 at a Super Bowl party. The two called it quits in early 2013 due to conflicting schedules and long-distance difficulties, but rekindled their relationship at the end of the year and got engaged.
“Over the summer, I reassessed priorities. I’d always wanted an awesome career with back-to-back projects, but I realized I wasn’t willing to sacrifice my relationship for it,” Union explained to Glamour in 2014. “Moving forward, I decided my work schedule has to make sense for our family.”
The couple wed in August 2014 and Union became a stepmother to the former Miami Heat player’s children, Zaire, Zaya and Xaiver from previous relationships. Four years after their nuptials, Wade and Union welcomed their daughter, Kaavia, via surrogate.
Ayesha and Stephen Curry, meanwhile, met at a young age when the two met while attending church in North Carolina. However, their romance did not blossom until the two reconnected as adults.
“I was 23; she was 22. But I knew I had found the right woman and I wanted to start a life with her,” the Golden State Warriors point guard told Parents Magazine in 2016.
Ayesha and Stephen wed in July 2011 and welcomed their daughter Riley one year later. The duo expanded their family with daughter Ryan and son Cannon, in July 2015 and July 2018, respectively.
Woods, for her part, didn’t have the easiest journey to finding love with her partner, Karl-Anthony Towns. The former best friend of Kylie Jenner made waves after kissing Tristan Thompson while he was dating Khloé Kardashian. After falling out with the reality star, the model met the Minnesota Timberwolves star in May 2020, and the two bonded over their grief of losing a parent. While Towns’ mother died in 2020 due to complications from COVID-19, Woods’ father died from cancer in 2017.
“The right person will bring a lot out of you. We have been friends for a long time,” she told Extra that September. “Naturally, we both connected about losing a parent at a very young age … so it was a very organic relationship that we’d been best friends for a while.”
In May 2022, Woods and Towns went all out for their second anniversary with a romantic getaway and luxurious gifts.
“I had no idea we were going anywhere, and Karl surprised me with a weekend trip to the same resort John and Jackie Kennedy had their honeymoon, an entire wardrobe, an amazing photo shoot with a top photographer, and an unforgettable experience,” the Los Angeles native shared via Instagram. “I love you @karltowns !! You make me feel like a queen and always remind me everyday.”
Keep scrolling to see which stars have dated and married NBA players: