Contrary to what many might imagine, actress and activist Gabrielle Union still struggles with anxiety around finances. The “Bring It On” star revealed she and her partner Dwayne Wade split household finances 50/50.

The 50-year-old shared the revelation in an in-depth interview with Bloomberg’s Idea Generation. The talk covered her acting journey and her business moves. Union also discussed her mindset on failure and her approach to managing anxiety around money and her career.

“I struggle with that,” she told Bloomberg. “I think I just have more responsibilities for my money, so I get nervous.”

To combat this, Union shares that she tries to find peace in the journey so as to minimize the sense of anxiety and refuses to let the scarcity mindset be her primary motivator. 

The 50/50 Issue

While discussing other reasons that contribute to this huge sense of financial responsibility, Union revealed a surprising detail about her marriage.

“It’s weird to say I’m head of household,” she says. “Because in this household we split everything 50/50. But in the other households that each of us have to support, there’s always this gorilla on your back that is like, you better work.”

While Twitter users were torn by this revelation, the larger consensus was that Union should not have to be going Dutch with a retired NBA athlete who presumably makes more money than she does.

“So we didn’t really need to know this, she talks too much — but seeing as we’re here, going 50/50 with a man who makes significantly more than you *and* is a cheater. lord have mercy,” one Twitter user noted.

Other users on the other side of the argument pointed out that many are grossly misunderstanding Union’s stance on the matter.

“She literally says they’re both supporting multiple households aside from their own shared one,” another Twitter user noted.

The Bigger Picture

Black women in Hollywood bear the brunt of the unequal pay gap in the film industry. In 2020, Selma director Ava DuVernay revealed that Black women in film are paid 39 percent less than their white counterparts. These shocking statistics can be traced to the financial anxiety that Black actresses like Gabrielle Union might be experiencing despite being immensely accomplished in her field.