The Miami Heat may have put an end to their recent losing streak, but star Dwyane Wade was handed a much more significant victory this weekend in court: full custody of his kids. After a rather ugly legal battle with his ex-wife Siohvaughn following their divorce, Wade's two young sons arrived in Miami Friday and started class at a new local school today.
"My life changed in a huge way," Wade told the Associated Press. "Mentally, I've been preparing for it for over a year now. To me, it's bigger than that. For me, it shows a lot of people that you need to fight to be in your kids' lives sometimes. You fight until you can't fight any more. That's all I was trying to be, a father in his kids' lives."
In court papers filed almost a year ago, Wade said that his ex was "unstable, dishonest, unbalanced" and claimed that she was involved in strange religious practices and constantly tried to turn their kids against him. His lawyers also demanded that Siohvaughn undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
Though, Siohvaughn's attorneys hit back with equally damning accusations and claimed Wade was abusive and abandoned his children. She also filed suit against Wade's current girlfriend, actress Gabrielle Union, claiming she displayed inappropriate behavior in front of the children.
The judge seemed to side with many of Wade's allegations.
"This court finds that (Siohvaughn Wade) has embarked on an unstoppable and relentless pattern of conduct for over two years to alienate the children from their father and lacks either the ability or the willingness to facilitate, let alone encourage, a close and continuing relationship between them," read Judge Renee G. Goldfarb's ruling.
Siohvaughn however will get to see her children on alternate weekends and other times during the year, including mother's day. Wade reportedly hopes that the children can continue to have a good relationship with their mother. Wade also told the court that he understands the rigors of being a full-time parent and professional athlete and has made arrangements to make sure he can come through with both demanding duties.
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