Actress Gabrielle Union is not afraid to speak her mind on controversial issues.. In her cover interview with Redbook magazine, the Being Mary Jane star said she believes her career choice is the reason for her fertility issues. Infertility is a major plotline in BET’s ‘Being Mary Jane’.
Tyra Banks and Chrissy Teigen discussed their struggles with fertility on their new daytime talk show FABlife.
Teigen, 29, who is married to 36-year-old singer John Legend, said, “John and I were having trouble. We would have had kids five, six years ago if it had happened. But my gosh, it’s been a process.”
But Union, 42, believes there are consequences to making her career a top priority over starting a family.
“There’s a certain amount of shame that is placed on women who have perhaps chosen a career over starting a family younger,” said Union. “The penance for being a career woman is barrenness. You feel like you’re wearing a scarlet letter.”
She added: “The reality is that women are discriminated against in the workplace for being mothers. As much as there are strides being made — you get pregnant, your career takes a hit. You can’t have a bad day. Don’t you dare cry at work. Don’t raise your voice. Especially if you’re a black woman in corporate America — now you’re ‘the angry black woman.'”
Union married NBA star Dwyane Wade, 33, even after she learned of his “break baby” with another woman.
Union told the magazine she is stepmom to Wade’s 2 sons Zion, 8, and Zaire, 13, from his previous marriage, AND Wade’s youngest son Xavier, 20 months, from his intimate therapy sessions with a sports groupie.
About the age differences between them, Union joked:
“I realized his friends, his teammates, were conceived when I was, like, a senior in high school. I was in high school at the same time as their parents! Sometimes he’ll be like, ‘Oh, my God, he’s so old!’ about someone who’s 35. But, Dwyane’s an old 33, and I’m a young 42, so it balances out.”
