Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union may have gotten engaged just before Christmas this year, but despite whatever positivity this eventual union may convey, under the surface not everything is as rosy for the pair as it seems. The pair have been dating on and off since 2007 and during one of their off periods earlier this year, Wade hooked up with an unknown woman, with their night of passion resulting in a child for the Miami Heat guard.

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Wade and Union are staying together despite Dwyane fathering a child during a break

There had been rumours and reports floating around for some time that implied Wade had fathered a child out of wedlock with a woman that was not Union and on Monday, 30 December, Wade finally addressed these rumours and confirmed them as true to ABC News prior to the Heat's game against the Denver Nuggets. Wade said that the child, a son, is about a month old, with his conception coming whilst he and Union were on a break from each other. Vowing to be as devoted to his new son as he is to his two other children, Zion and Zaire - both of whom are from his previous marriage to Siohvaughn Funches - the birth of his lovechild doesn't seem to have harmed his relationship with Union as much as it would be expected.

“In our time apart, in our break, in our pain and our hurt, a blessing came out of it in my life, having a son who was born healthy,” said Wade. "I got a chance to see him. I'm involved in my kids' lives, you know. When my kids lived at home with me, when they weren't living at home with me, I tried to do everything I could to see them."

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With slippers like that, can you blame Union for sticking with Wade?

Wade authored his own memoirs, titled A Father First, in 2012 and throughout the book his main focus seemed to be on fatherly responsibilities and responsible parenting. When asked whether the birth of his latest child compromises the message of the book, he said, "It would compromise it if I wasn't a father first. This is something obviously private for my family that we will continue to deal with as a family. But we have a blessing, too, to the bloodline, the Wade bloodline. From that standpoint, to me, it doesn't state anything differently than what I've always shown."

After getting engaged on 21 December, Union and Wade are expected to tie the knot in 2014, providing they stay together.

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