Gabrielle Union on Her and First Husband’s Infidelities, Says They Didn’t Think ‘Marriage Should Get in the Way’

While Gabrielle Union is happily wed to Dwyane Wade these days, she’s opened up about how she felt “entitled” to cheat during her marriage to NFL player Chris Howard.

In an interview on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Union admitted she felt “guilty” about her past infidelity, but said it was something that went both ways with her and Howard. 

“In our first marriage, neither one of us felt like the marriage should get in the way of our dating,” she said near the 1:08:00 mark, noting she wasn’t “getting wife of the year awards.” 

She continued, “A part of it was like keeping up with his activities, like, ‘Oh, that’s what you’re doing? You’re going to feel this one.’ And I just felt entitled to it as well.”

Union met Howard in 1999 and they married in 2001. Their relationship came to an end in ’05, and the divorce was finalized in ’06. She said that at the time she was “paying all the bills,” which added to her rationale.

“I was working my ass off, and I felt like that’s what comes, the spoils of riches,” she said. “It was such a stupid relationship that should have never got out of the dating phase.” She said that she was “horny for validation and having certain kinds of guys like me and want me” at the time.

They went to couples counseling and eventually came to the conclusion that they didn’t have much in common.

Union met Dwyane Wade in 2008. They married in 2014, and she is the stepmother to his three children.

Listen to the full episode of the Armchair Expert podcast below.