ESSENCE December cover star Gabrielle Union was super candid in our Google Hangout yesterday.
Here are seven things we found out about her:
1. She loves her collard greens… with pork
“I’m usually in charge of the collard greens and candied yams,” said Union on the subject of holiday meals. And you can keep all that talk of turkey wings in her collards. “I’m from Omaha, Nebraska,” she joked. “People swear to God a turkey leg is the same as a ham hock. No it’s not.”
2. She’d rather you not disturb her on date night with Dwyane Wade
“Somewhere after dessert I need him focused on what happens next,” she joked. “If we’re somewhere with the kids or it’s supposed to be family time we have to be focused,” she added. On the subject of signing fan autographs, Union adds that everything is good “as long as people are respectful and cool.”
3. She keeps “the heat” (pun intended) in her relationship by having her own life (yes, sister!)
“Luckily, we’re not in each other’s faces all day every day,” said Union. “My schedule, his schedule allows us to miss each other so it’s kinda always brand new. Having my own life and new things to talk about keeps it interesting for us.”
4. She’s worried about her eggs
“I don’t know if by now its a matter of ‘want'” she said when a reader asked her how many children she wanted. “My eggs are like the thing Indiana Jones finds in the Temple of Doom so I don’t know how many my body can physically have. I’d be happy with one if that’s what God blesses me with it.”
5. She’s in a book club with her girlfriends
“Right now we’re re-reading Black Boy [by Richard Wright],” said Union. “We all read it in college but, you know, you felt a certain way in your 20s so we decided to re-read it to see what we got differently in our late 30s/ 40s. That was really interesting especially on the heels of the Trayvon Martin tragedy. And then also me having three boys in the home with me, just how you look at Black manhood period.”
6. She almost became a lawyer
Union was studying for her LSAT when she was approached to intern at a modeling agency. “I don’t know how good of a lawyer I would have been and I’d like to think my closing arguments would have been pretty epic,” she said. “I wanted to be a defense attorney.”
7. She drinks a gallon of water every day
“Rain or sleet, snow or shine,” she said. [This is the part where we run to the watercooler]
Watch the entire Google Hangout with our cover star below: