Dwyane Wade’s ex-wife, Siohvaughn Funches-Wade, the star’s first wife and mother of his two oldest children, filed paperwork this week asking a judge to postpone their daughter Zaya’s sex change until she’s 18. In Funches-Wade plea to the judge, she claims the NBA star is exploiting their daughter for financial income.
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According to The Blast, Funches-Wade has sentiments about Zaya being pressured into the permanent change by Dwayne.
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“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,” she said in her legal filing.
The filing was in response to an August petition by Dwayne asking permission for Zaya to legally change her name from Zion Malachi Airamis Wade to Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade.
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Zaya came out as transgender in 2020 at the age of 12. Dwayne’s argument concerning his ex-wife’s petition was acknowledging that he is the legal guardian of their children and has the legal right to make decisions on his daughter’s behalf.
Funch-Wade says during a conversation in April, Dwayne told her “a lot of money had been already made, and that additional money will be made in relation to our child’s name and gender issue.”
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“He told me that he intended to make our child very famous due to the name and gender issue and also informed me that there would be endorsements/contracts associated therewith,” she said.
“I am concerned that our child is being commercialized at a young age and also of the uncontrollable consequences of media exposure i.e. cyberbullying, statements and/or pictures taken out of context of our child, and the unwanted spotlight focused on our child,” she said.
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Funch-Wade alleges her ex-husband only informs her of their children’s life choices out of ‘courtesy’ but states she wants to be hands-on in all decisions affecting the children. She also claims he is legally required to consult her on “major decisions affecting care, welfare, activities, health, education and religious upbringing.”
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Funch-Wade and Dwayne will have a hearing in December to determine whether Zaya can change her name and sex without her agreement.
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Since Zaya came out she has been working with multiple high-end brands, signing modeling contracts and social media deals.
Dwayne has not responded to the allegations.
