For Russell Wilson and Ciara, the most memorable moment at the Fashion Scholarship Fund’s 89th annual gala did not come on the red carpet or during the ceremony itself. It came in the middle of an interview, when Ciara’s 11-year-old son Future Zahir casually referred to Wilson as “my dad.”
According to The Shade Room, the comment arrived while the family was discussing a recent trip to the University of Texas. Earlier this month, Wilson took Future to Austin for his first college visit, sharing video of the two touring the Longhorns’ football facilities and walking through the stadium.
At the gala in New York, the trip came up again, and Future spoke about it with unusual ease and certainty.
“I had a really good time there,” he said. “I’d really be happy going there in the future, but I really had a good time going there. Going with my dad, just a really good experience for me and him.”
For Future, Wilson was simply the parent who took him on the trip, encouraged him, and shared the experience.
That dynamic has been more than a decade in the making. Wilson entered Future’s life in 2015, when Ciara’s son was still an infant. By the time Wilson and Ciara married the following year, he had already taken on an active role in helping raise him. Over the years, that relationship has become one of the most visible and consistent parts of Wilson’s public image.
Wilson has spoken before about the significance of meeting Future for the first time. Recalling that moment in a previous interview, he said the child climbed into his lap at just 9 months old.
“When I walked in the room, I see lil’ Future,” Wilson said. “He crawls in my lap. It was like, ‘This is gonna be my responsibility.’”
The college visit itself reflected the kind of relationship the two have built. In the video Wilson posted from Texas, Future appeared completely at ease as he walked through the campus and looked out over the stadium.
“I love Texas, this school is great,” he said in the clip. “Everything’s bigger in Texas.”
At the gala, Wilson expanded on that idea, describing Future as a kid with interests in football, basketball, and baseball. “He’s got a bright future,” Wilson said, before adding that both Future and daughter Sienna are “dreamers” who work for what they want.
Ciara, standing beside them during the interview, smiled as the two spoke.
