Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson opened up about meeting his wife of nearly eight years Ciara and raising their brood during an appearance on the latest episode of the I AM ATHLETE podcast this week. The couple share three biological children together, and Wilson is also stepfather to Ciara's son Future Jr., from her previous relationship with the rapper Future.
Though Future Jr. was less than a year old when Wilson met Ciara in early 2015, he explained to host Brandon Marshall why there was never a question in his mind that he would step up, when asked how he knew the 38-year-old singer was "the one."
“Right before I met Cee, I wrote out my five non-negotiables," the openly devout Christian explained, likening marriage to a business deal. Of his five conditions, Wilson said that he needed "a woman of faith," as well as a woman who was faithful in general, an independent woman, someone who would love him the way his mom loved his dad "on his deathbed, when he was at his lowest," and finally, "a woman who would tilt the room."
“So I prayed about that … I actually wrote it out on a napkin at dinner," he continued. "Three days later I meet Cee. And when I walked in the room and saw, you know, little Future, who was nine months [old] at the time or whatever, he crawls in my lap, it was like, ‘This is going to be my responsibility.'"
“I remember leaving that night and God saying to me, ‘Raising this child it's gonna be your responsibility,'" Wilson recalled. "And realizing that, I’m praying to God, ‘Are you sure this is what you want me to do?’ He’s saying, ‘Son this is for you.’ The first night. This is gonna be your responsibility."
When asked if coming to that realization had been scary, Wilson said that it was "more so an opportunity."
"Like, 'OK God, this is what you want me to do?’ Stepping in to raise a child with Cee and realizing that, ‘OK God, I know she's the one for me.’ But also too, I'm gonna take this responsibility as well," he continued. “And I was ready for that. I love children ... But it was like, man, to help raise a child and understanding that, God, you're going to give me this opportunity, what a gift."
"Even Jesus himself, like, Joseph was a stepdad, OK, it wasn't biologically his," he added.
Finally, given his evident dedication to his family, Wilson was asked if there were any words of wisdom he could impart to other fathers or fathers-to-be.
"When you’re raising children ... you’ve got to love every single child as if they’re yours," he explained. "That's been the greatest gift of raising Future and Sienna, Win and now Amora, two months. It’s like, man, God gave me that opportunity to raise them and to love them and to care for them and teach them ... And there's no difference.”
"I think to me it's the greatest gift, knowing that that's the responsibility to raise these four beautiful children all together," he concluded.
