INSIDE EDITION speaks exclusively to NBA star Dwayne Wade's ex-wife about their troubled marriage that ended in divorce.
Siohvaughn Funches-Wade is the ex wife of NBA superstar Dwayne Wade, one of the Big Three on the champion Miami Heat Team.
Now Siohvaughn is speaking exclusively to INSIDE EDITION about her troubled marriage and divorce.
“The money, the superstardom, the fame, the fans, it definitely drove me and the children out,” Siohvaughn told INSIDE EDITION.
Dwayne and Siohvaughn were high-school sweethearts.
Siohvaughn said, “He was pretty shy, not really outgoing.”
They got married in 2002. One year later, Wade was drafted into the NBA and their lives changed overnight.
They lived in a $4 million dollar mansion outside Chicago, with a grand staircase, marble floors, and a state of the art kitchen. Their children slept in designer bedrooms, and the entire family enjoyed a huge game room with arcade games and a ping pong table.
“A ton of good times,” Siohvaughn said.
Outside, there was a lovely playground, spacious deck, and beautiful pool. And of course, there was a full basketball court.
“This changed everything, and it changed everything for the worse,” Siohvaughn said, holding a basketball.
His megawatt smile made Dwayne Wade a popular player. But off court, his marriage had spiraled into a bitter he-said-she-said “War of the Wades,” as Siohvaughn described it.
In divorce court papers, Siohvaughn claimed he had a violent temper.
“He literally picked me up in the air while I was pregnant, and slammed me to the floor,” Siohvaughn said.
In his book, A Father First, Dwayne Wade denied having a violent temper, and said, "I hadn't touched her and never in a million years would I have hit her.”
In court papers, Siohvaughn also says their marriage was riddled with infidelity, claims Wade has denied.
“I found text messages from at least a dozen different women, multiple women, pictures of women barely dressed and in lingerie,” Siohvaughn said.
And when she confronted him, Wade's response to Siohvaughn was, “Look at the house you live in, look at the car you drive. This is part of the lifestyle.”
“I was thinking, ‘The man I married is dead,’” Siohvaughn said.
Wade was separated, but technically still married to Siohvaughn, when he openly gushed to Oprah about his relationship with actress Gabrielle Union.
Oprah asked Wade, “Does Gabrielle make your eyes light up?”
“She does. She makes my eyes sparkle,” said Wade.
Once married to a man worth a staggering $65 million dollars, Siohvaughn now says she is struggling to pay bills.
"$32,762.50 past due, one bill. And there are many, many more. "
Last year, Siohvaughn received another devastating blow when a judge awarded her ex full custody of their two children, ten-year-old Zaire and five-year-old Zion.
Calling her decision a difficult one, the judge wrote she had, "Grave reservations about Siohvaughn Wade's ability and/or willingness to ease the children through a transition."
Siohvaughn said, “Money and fame is absolutely the reason why I lost the children.”
Six months ago, Siohvaughn was arrested in her backyard for attempted child abduction after she failed to turn the boys over to Wade for Father's Day.
“I got worried. I got nervous. I got scared. Now the law enforcement has to get involved,” Wade told Oprah.
“One of them grabbed me and police just swarmed me,” Siohvaughn said.
She spent 2 days in jail and claims her arm was injured during the arrest. All charges were later dropped.
Wade has spoken about an email he sent Siohvaughn hoping they could move on, " Respect who we are, and become the parents that [the boys] deserve. "
But for Siohvaughn, the war rages on.
"They belong with me, their mom. They belong home," said Siohvaughn.
