Dwyane Wade’s Son Zaire Shows His Support for Sister Zaya: ‘I Love You, Kid’

Proud brother. Dwyane Wade’s son Zaire is showing his support for his sister Zaya after she opened up about being transgender. The 18-year-old shared some throwbacks on Instagram while gushing over the 12-year-old on Wednesday, February 12.

“Man, I remember bugging my mom as a kid telling her I wanted a brother so bad. I was the only child looking for company and someone to look after and take care of,” Zaire began his heartwarming post.

“I have been blessed to have my best friend, Zaya, with me for 12 years. We did everything together … we fought, we played, we laughed and we cried. But the one thing we never did was leave each other behind,” he continued. “I’ve told you that I would lay my life down to make sure you are ten toes down and happy on this earth. I don’t care what they think Z, you are my best friend and I love you kid, and if it means anything, just know there’s no love lost on this side,” he concluded with a fist emoji.

Prior to Zaire’s display of support, Dwyane, 38, sat with Ellen DeGeneres and shared the moment Zaya revealed her truth to him and stepmother, Gabrielle Union, on February 11. “First of all, me and my wife, Gabrielle Union, we are proud parents of a child in the LGBTQ+ community, and we’re proud allies as well,” he began.

“[She] said, ‘Hey, so I want to talk to you guys. I think going forward, I’m ready to live my truth. And I want to be referenced as she and her. I would love for you guys to call me Zaya,’” the athlete recalled. “Now, it’s our job to one, go out and get information, to reach out to every relationship that we have.”

In addition to Zaya’s father and brother, Gabrielle, 47, took to Twitter to display support for her daughter. “Meet Zaya. She’s compassionate, loving, whip-smart and we are so proud of her,” the former America’s Got Talent judge captioned a video of the preteen explaining why she decided to live as her authentic self. “It’s OK to listen to [and] love and respect your children exactly as they are. Love and light good people.”