“...his high school sweetheart...”
Were they married at the time, the author would presumably have used the term “wife”.
Absent that, the technically correct term would be “concubine”.
But no. We must use and be subjected to euphemisms.
Wade married his high school girlfriend Siohvaughn Funches in 2002. They split in 2007, and he divorced her in 2010 after an acrimonious court battle.[144] In 2011, Wade was granted sole custody of his two children.[145][146] Wade also raises a nephew, the son of Wade's sister Deanna.[147][148] Wade began dating actress Gabrielle Union in 2008.[149][150] According to Wade, he and Union briefly split up at some point early in 2013 due to career demands.[148] During that time, Wade and Aja Metoyer conceived a son.[151][152] Wade and Union became engaged in December 2013[153] and married on August 30, 2014, in Miami.[154] On November 7, 2018, Wade became a father for the fourth time, when he and Union welcomed their daughter, who was born via surrogate.[155] In 2020, Wade's 12-year-old child came out as a transgender girl and changed her name to Zaya.[156][157][158]
It looks like “Zaya” may have been conceived and born during a period of separation, and before the divorce of his parents.