Gabrielle Union Painfully Recounts Her Struggle to Have Kids, Says She's Had '8 or 9 Miscarriages'

Gabrielle Union says it was not until she became a stepmom that she realized she wanted children.

In excerpts given to People from the 44-year-old actress' memoir, We're Going to Need More Wine, Union opens up about her and husband Dwyane Wade's heartbreaking struggle to have children of their own and the lengths she's gone to in trying to conceive.

"I have had eight or nine miscarriages,” she writes. “For three years, my body has been a prisoner of trying to get pregnant -- I’ve either been about to go into an IVF cycle, in the middle of an IVF cycle, or coming out of an IVF cycle."

MORE: Gabrielle Union on Not Having Kids Yet -- 'The Penance for Being a Career Woman Is Barrenness'

Union says in her book that after three years of enduring failed IVF treatments, she and her husband "remain bursting with love and ready to do anything to meet the child we’ve both dreamed of."

Meanwhile, the Being Mary Jane star is loving being a stepmother to Wade's children -- which include his 16-year-old nephew, Dahveon Morris, and his sons from a previous marriage, Zaire, 15, and Zion, 10. The 35-year-old NBA pro also has a 3-year-old son named Xavier, who lives with his mother.

MORE: Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade Gush About Third Wedding Anniversary

“I never wanted kids,” Union admitted to People. “Then I became a stepmom, and there was no place I’d rather be than with them.”

In a 2015 interview with Redbook, the actress also opened up about not having kids of her own, and how she feels she's sometimes perceived. "So far, it has not happened for us. A lot of my friends deal with this," she said. "There's a certain amount of shame that is placed on women who have perhaps chosen a career over starting a family younger."

EXCLUSIVE: Dwyane Wade Gushes Over Wife Gabrielle Union's 'Sexy' Fashion

In good times and bad, Wade and Union always put up a united front. In July, ET caught up with Union, who gushed over her handsome husband's sense of style, and revealed the real reason she doesn't dress him.

Check out our interview with the actress ahead of the release of We're Going to Need More Wine, which is to be released on Oct. 17.

EXCLUSIVE: Gabrielle Union Admits Husband Dwyane Wade Looks Best When He's Naked

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