After tabloids and fans talked about Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen’s marriage for a while, the two are said to have hired divorce lawyers.
The New York Post first reported that “multiple sources” said the couple had hired lawyers and were starting to work out the financial and personal details of a divorce. CNN and NBC also told people about the news. When asked for comments, the couple’s representatives did not answer.
The Post has been writing about what people think is trouble in the marriage. Many people think that Ms. Bündchen and Mr. Brady had a fight over his decision to come out of retirement after 22 years and play football again.
After saying he was retiring in February when he was 44 years old, Brady said in March that he would be back with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 23rd NFL season.
Since they started dating more than 15 years ago, the public has been drawn to the famous couple. They have been married for 13 years. The relationship between a supermodel and a famous athlete has become a classic example of a well-known and enticing type of famous couple.
Even though hiring lawyers doesn’t necessarily mean they’re getting a divorce, fans have always been interested in the details of their relationship and how it affects Mr. Brady’s long and successful football career.
Their relationship is a big deal because it brings together two very successful people at the top of their fields.
Most people think that Mr. Brady is the best quarterback in football because he has won seven Super Bowls, six of them with the New England Patriots, and has the most touchdowns and passing yards in N.F.L. history.
In 2022, he was the highest-paid NFL player on Forbes’ list. Ms. Bündchen has one of the most famous faces in the world, and she is known for more than just walking down runways. And there she has her own numbers: A passage from her 2018 book “Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life” says that as of 2018, she had been on 1200 magazine covers, in 450 fashion editorials, and in nearly 500 fashion shows. She was said to be the best-paid and richest model in the world in 2016.
Ms. Bündchen, 42, has focused on their family throughout their marriage, taking a step back from her work as her husband’s long career reached new heights.
Here are some quotes and key moments from their relationship.
Blind date at a wine bar in 2006
On a blind date, the couple met at Turks & Frogs, a wine bar in New York City’s West Village neighborhood.
Ms. Bündchen told Vanity Fair in 2009, “I knew right away — the first time I saw him.”
“We met through a mutual friend. “The moment I saw him, he smiled, and I thought, That is the most beautiful, charismatic smile I’ve ever seen!” she said, adding that the two of them talked for three hours.
“You know that feeling when you just can’t get enough? “We’ve never gone a day without speaking to each other since the first day we met,” she explained.
A ‘flood’ in 2009 (and a proposal)
Mr. Brady and Ms. Bündchen were reported to be engaged in January 2009. Ms. Bündchen told a story about Mr. Brady’s creative proposal to her in a 2018 video for Vogue’s 73 Questions.
“When he proposed to me, he made up this whole story about my apartment flooding and me running over there to try to fix it.” When I arrived, the entire apartment was decorated with candles and rose petals.
Then he got down on one knee to propose, and I was like, ‘Get up!’ “Because he’d just had surgery,” she explained, adding, “and now we’re here.”
Two weddings in 2009
Following a brief engagement, the couple married in February 2009 in a small ceremony at a Catholic church in Santa Monica, California, in front of a small group of family and friends.
Following the ceremony, they held a relaxed reception at their home, grilling some steaks for an intimate celebration. A month and a half later, the couple married again with friends in Costa Rica, where Ms. Bündchen owns a home.
In “Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life,” Ms. Bündchen wrote, “Sometimes I tell people that my husband and I love each other so much that we got married twice.”
“Both Tom and I come from strong, solid, very close-knit Roman Catholic families,” she went on. “Our parents have been married for a long time. It was very important to our families that Tom and I have a traditional wedding ceremony in a church, and we both wanted to honor their wishes.”
Growing a family
The couple has two children: a son, Benjamin, who is 12 years old, and a daughter, Vivian, who is 9 years old. Mr. Brady has a 15-year-old son, John, from his previous marriage to actress Bridget Moynahan.
Ms. Bündchen and Mr. Brady frequently share photos of their children on social media, celebrating their development.
“I purposefully stepped away from modeling in 2015 to focus more on my family and personal projects,” Ms. Bündchen wrote in her book. In 2015, she “retired” from the runway but continued to work on photo shoots and other projects.
‘You have to let him do what he loves.’
The host of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Ellen DeGeneres, asked Ms. Bündchen if she would be retiring for good in an interview.
“I think I’m the furthest away from retiring that I’ve ever been,” she replied. “I’ve never worked so hard in my life.” But I don’t think I retire until I die. I enjoy creating because I enjoy working. That, I believe, is why we’re here: to keep creating, expanding, and learning.”
‘Will Gisele let Tom play until he’s 50?’
Mr. Brady and Rob Gronkowski, the former tight end who also played for the Patriots and the Buccaneers, answered some of the most frequently Googled questions about themselves in a video posted on the Buccaneers’ YouTube channel in September 2021.
“Can Tom Brady play until he’s 50?” Mr. Gronkowski read aloud. Mr. Brady, 44 at the time, stated that he believed he could.
Mr. Gronkowski chuckled and added a cheeky caveat: “I think it’s, ‘Will Gisele let Tom play until 50?'” Mr. Brady laughed and admitted that it was a better question to ponder on the internet. “Of course, the answer is ‘No,'” he said before quickly backpedaling.
“I’m just kidding,” he said to Ms. Bündchen as he addressed the camera. “I’m sorry, babe, but I adore you.” You’d let me do whatever I wanted as long as I was happy.”
A video comment with over a thousand likes jokes that the “entire league” must now “convince Giselle.”
Rumors and ‘concerns’ in 2022
Fans and the media have portrayed Ms. Bündchen as eager for her husband to retire from football. Ms. Bündchen agreed with the writer’s assertion that such a portrayal is rooted in sexism in a September interview with Elle.
“Of course, I have concerns — this is a very violent sport, and I have children, and I would like him to be more present,” she explained. “I’ve definitely had those conversations with him numerous times. But, in the end, I believe that everyone must make a decision that is best for [them]. He, too, must follow his joy.”
Mr. Brady’s absence from training camp for several days in August sparked speculation. Mr. Brady sounded solemn at a news conference when asked why he had missed part of the upcoming season’s training. “It’s all personal, you know, everyone’s dealing with different situations.” We all face extremely unique challenges in our lives.”
Ms. Bündchen reflected on the last decade or so in an Elle profile. She stated that she had spent a significant amount of time with her family, “creating a cocoon and a loving environment for my children to grow up in” and “supporting” Mr. Brady, but that she was ready to embark on a new chapter in her life.
“As a mother and a wife, I feel very fulfilled in that way,” she said. “And now it will be my turn.”
