The Tampa Bay Buccaneers opened their 2022 season on Sunday night with Tom Brady at quarterback — just as he was when the 2021 season ended. The seven-time Super Bowl champion initially decided in February to hang it up after his 22nd season in the NFL, but reversed course just 40 days later, apparently realizing the retirement life wasn’t for him. While football fans likely weren’t affected too much by Brady’s offseason waffling, it might have made all the difference in his personal life. Rumors of marital strife between the QB and Gisele Bündchen have run rampant, and they only got worse after the September 11 win against the Dallas Cowboys.
The rumors about trouble in paradise really ramped up when Tom Brady unexpectedly left team duties behind for eleven days in the middle of the preseason, and speculation later grew when it was learned Gisele Bündchen and their children would not be attending the season opener in Arlington, Texas. Such rumblings of trouble persisted despite Brady’s wife sending a tweet in support of him and his team:
Let’s go @TomBrady ! Let’s go Bucs ! ✨✨✨September 12, 2022
While the model did send well wishes to Tom Brady, that tweet isn’t exactly overflowing with excitement, and there were no follow-up social media posts during or after the game to congratulate her husband on Tampa Bay’s 19-3 victory. The quarterback’s performance wasn’t stellar by any means, which could certainly be the reason there were no postgame celebratory tweets, but it still seems like Gisele Bündchen’s enthusiasm has waned in comparison to last season.
Some people who commented on her post weren’t buying what she was selling, either, with multiple Twitter users joking that Gisele Bündchen had been hacked. One even speculated in jest that the quarterback himself had sent the tweet:
How did @TomBrady get Gisele’s password??
Many well-wishers sent along their hopes that things would work out between the couple, and plenty of football fans apologized to Gisele Bündchen for taking Tom Brady away from his family for (at least) one more season. One Twitter user said they didn’t believe she was sincerely cheering for her husband, but that they didn’t blame her for being upset:
Was your account hacked bc we all know you’re not happy about him still playing and most of us don’t blame you
A Buccaneers source spoke to People ahead of Sunday’s game about how strange it was to not have the Brady family planning to attend, and that they usually had to coordinate extra security and snacks for the kids. They said there was a noticeable change from last year:
It feels very different this year than last year. She was excited to be here, we saw her around. I'm not saying she can't possibly come, but nothing is in place for her to be here for the first regular season game and that seems weird… Everyone here knows that there's tension, but we don't know how serious it is. So we're just not talking to him about Gisele. It's not a topic anyone wants to bring up to him.
Tom Brady touched on the situation himself when he returned from his eleven-day absence, telling the media there was “a lot of shit going on” in his personal life. In his words:
It’s all personal, you know. Everyone’s got different situations they’re dealing with, so we all have really unique challenges to our life. I’m 45 years old, man. There’s a lot of shit going on. You’ve just got to try to figure out life the best you can, and it’s a continuous process.
Tom Brady is definitely a polarizing person, but whether you love him or hate him, nobody should wish negativity on a man’s family. Hopefully he and Gisele Bündchen can figure things out without personal issues continuing to come into play as the season progresses.
Football is officially back, and so are lots of your favorite shows, so check out our 2022 TV Schedule to keep up with the premiere dates.
