When you’re trying to navigate your way through Hollywood, it’s good to have friends who have your back. And it appears as if Gabrielle Union was fortunate to have Tisha Campbell by her side, who recently touched on paying for the actress’ therapy sessions early on in her career.
Back in late 2022, Union opened up on “The View” on how she was supported by the “Martin” star in her late 20s after Campbell had noticed she was “struggling.” The therapist that Campbell ended up paying for is the same person Union continues to see to this day as she called the kind gesture the single greatest gift anyone had ever given to her.
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And during an appearance on the same show this week, it was only right that host Whoopi Goldberg would ask the 54-year-old what made her want to help her. “It’s funny ‘cause I didn’t even think she would remember, It was just a moment in time for us and I was like ‘please just take this gift,” she told the panel. “I want you to have it,’ because I want her to win. I want my sisters to win.”
While she didn’t go into detail on what exactly Union may have been struggling with at the time, Campbell added that one can easily become addicted to “the fame monsters” and that she just wanted her friend to be okay. “Not that anything was wrong,” she continued. “It’s just that I wanted her to be supported.” Union had previously spoken out about her past — particularly her 20s — saying she could no longer recognize the person she was at that time.
And though those years were hard for Union, she told Bustle in a 2021 interview that she felt “proud” to have overcome the hurdles she faced during that period in her life where therapy tremendously helped her to get back on her feet. Despite the “darkness” she found herself wrapped around, she persevered and “kept moving toward the light,” which she was grateful for.
@shadowandact Did you know that Tisha Campbell paid for Gabrielle Union to go to therapy 🥹❤️ // 🎥: @The View #blackhollywood #letterboxd #gabrielleunion #tishacampbell #blackactresses #blackfilmtok #filmtok ♬ original sound – Shadow and Act
In January, the “Bring It On” actress made headlines when she came forward and admitted that she shared quite the dysfunctional marriage with her ex-husband, NFL star Chris Howard, whom she wed in 2001 before filing for divorce in 2005. While Union has been vocal in the past about never treating her first marriage the way she looks at exchanging vows today as the Nebraska native shared that while she and Howard were together, their romance was plagued by infidelity — something she “felt entitled” to.
“A part of it was like keeping up with his activities, like, ‘Oh, that’s what you’re doing? You’re going to feel this one,’ and I just felt entitled to it as well,” Union told Dax Shepard on the “Armchair Expert with Dax Shephard” podcast. “I was paying all the bills, I was working my a– off, and I felt like that’s what comes, the spoils of riches.”