In 2022, Tom Brady embarked on the last season of an objectively spectacular 23-year NFL career. The quarterback thought about hanging it up one season earlier, retiring for just a matter of weeks before choosing to return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for one last hurrah. But did that decision come at a cost? At the start of the 2022-23 football season, Brady and supermodel Gisele Bündchen became the subject of rumors alleging the two are on the brink of divorce. The rumors ended up being true, as they announced their divorce had been finalized in October 2022.
Let’s take a look at the timeline of this couple’s relationship, as well as all the clues there was trouble in paradise for Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen.
December 2006: Tom Brady And Gisele Bündchen Start Dating
The NFL quarterback and his wife first met on a blind date in December 2006, Gisele Bündchen wrote in her memoir, Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life. Two months after they started dating, they found out Tom Brady’s ex-girlfriend, Bridget Moynahan, was pregnant with his child. Bündchen wrote (via E! News):
The very next day the news was everywhere, and I felt my world had been turned upside down. Needless to say, that wasn't an easy time. But it was a time that brought about so much growth.
Despite the unexpected news so early in their relationship, Jack Moynahan, who Gisele Bündchen calls her “bonus child,” became “a huge gift and blessing in my life,” she wrote in her memoir.
Gisele Bündchen And Tom Brady Get Married In 2009
The model also credited her stepson with pushing up her and Tom Brady’s timeline for having children, since they wanted Jack’s siblings to be close in age. They held two private wedding ceremonies, tying the knot in front of about 20 people at Santa Monica Catholic Church in February 2009, per Bride, before holding another intimate event (with about 25 guests) in Costa Rica about six weeks later.
Gisele Bündchen gave birth to the couple’s first child together, son Benjamin, that December, and they welcomed daughter Vivian in 2012.
Gisele Bündchen And Tom Brady Are Reportedly Going Through ‘A Rough Patch’ In 2015
Tom Brady’s Deflategate controversy in 2015 apparently caused some tension at home, according to reports. The NFL found the quarterback at least partially responsible for footballs being deliberately deflated in the New England Patriots’ 2014 AFC Championship Game, which resulted in a four-game suspension for the QB. An US Weekly source said Brady became “very nasty and irritable” toward his wife, to the point that she consulted a divorce lawyer. Another insider said:
Tom thinks it’s only a threat. But this is definitely a rough patch.
The couple reportedly continued living together in Boston through the ordeal, and Gisele Bündchen apparently even supported her husband by traveling with him to New York for a hearing on the matter.
Tom Brady Reveals Hardships In Marriage Related To His Football Career In 2020 Interview
In 2020, Tom Brady did an interview with Howard Stern, in which he revealed his wife had been unhappy a couple of years prior with the way football kept him away from his family duties. Brady said (via E! News):
A couple of years ago...she didn't feel like I was doing my part for the family and she felt like I would play football all season and she would take care of the house. And all of a sudden, when that season ended, I'd be like, 'Great, let me get into all my other business activities, let me get in to my football training,' and she's sitting there going, 'Well, when are you gonna do things for the house? When are you gonna take the kids to school and do that?'
He went on to say that the “situation wasn’t great,” and that Gisele Bündchen “wasn’t satisfied” in the marriage, which forced him to make a big transition in his life.
Tom Brady Retires From NFL In February 2022, Then Unretires Six Weeks Later
After 22 seasons and seven Super Bowl rings, Tom Brady decided to call it a career in February 2022 ahead of Super Bowl LVI (which his phone so rudely reminded him that he was not participating in). The next month, however, the quarterback called off the retirement — a choice that Gisele Bündchen voiced her concerns about in an Elle cover story published in September 2022. She said of her husband’s decision:
Obviously, I have my concerns—this is a very violent sport, and I have my children and I would like him to be more present. I have definitely had those conversations with him over and over again. But ultimately, I feel that everybody has to make a decision that works for [them]. He needs to follow his joy, too.
Gisele Bündchen wanted him to be happy, she told Elle. However, when the magazine reached out to her regarding the rumors that began circulating in the months following the interview, she declined to comment.
Tom Brady Takes Unexpected Leave From Team During 2022 Preseason
Ahead of the start of the 2022-23 football season, Tom Brady took an unexpected 11-day leave from the Tampa Bay Bucs in the midst of their preseason schedule. The quarterback’s mysterious disappearance caused a lot of questions, which Brady addressed upon his return, telling the media:
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.
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that the seven-time Super Bowl winner spent most of those 11 days in the Bahamas with his family, fulfilling a promise he’d made to his wife to take an August vacation with them, which he reportedly had not done in 20 years.
Speculation Grows When No Plans Are Made For Gisele Bündchen To Attend 2022 Season Opener
The rumors that started swirling with Tom Brady’s uncharacteristic break from the team were only strengthened when it was reported that no plans had been made to accommodate Gisele Bündchen and her children ahead of the season opener. A Bucs source told People she’d been excited to be at the games last season, and because everyone knew there was tension this year, nobody brought her up around the quarterback.
Gisele Bündchen Tweets Support For Husband, Tampa Bay Before First Game
Gisele Bündchen may not have been present when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers opened the 2022 season against the Dallas Cowboys on September 11, but she tweeted her support from afar:
Let’s go @TomBrady ! Let’s go Bucs ! ✨✨✨September 12, 2022
Rather than put the rumors of marital strife to rest, however, the tweet seemed to only add to the speculation, with many fans commenting that they didn’t believe she was actually happy for her husband’s return to football.
October 2022: Amid Reports That They’ve Been Living Separately, Gisele Bündchen Reportedly Hires A Divorce Attorney
Days after the Buccaneers’ victory over the Dallas Cowboys, US Weekly reported on September 14 that the couple was not living together, with a source saying:
Tom and Gisele are still not seeing eye to eye regarding his retirement. They are currently living in separate houses, but continue to communicate.
Weeks later, on October 4, it was reported that Bündchen had hired a divorce attorney and that Tom Brady was weighing his financial options, “trying to figure out what to do.” There continued to be no official word from either party on the state of their relationship, but the supermodel remained absent from his football games.
October 28, 2022: Tom Brady And Gisele Bündchen Finalize Their Divorce
Tom Brady took to Instagram Stories on October 28 to announce that he and Gisele Bündchen had come to the decision to end their 13-year marriage, and the divorce had been finalized. He released the following statement:
In recent days, my wife and I finalized our divorce from one another after 13 years of marriage. We arrived at this decision amicably and with gratitude for the time we spent together. We are blessed with beautiful and wonderful children who will continue to be the center of our world in every way. We will continue to work together as parents to always ensure they receive the love and attention they deserve. We arrived at this decision to end our marriage after much consideration. Doing so is, of course, painful and difficult, like it is for many people who go through the same thing every day around the world. However we wish only the best for each other as we pursue whatever new chapters in our lives that are yet to be written. And we kindly ask for privacy and respect as we navigate what is to come in the days and weeks ahead. Thank you 🙏
Gisele released a statement of her own on her Stories, echoing her ex-husband's sentiments on co-parenting and asking for privacy. She said:
With much gratitude for our time together, Tom and I have amicably finalized our divorce. My priority has always been and will continue to be our children whom I love with all my heart. We will continue co-parenting to give them the love, care and attention they greatly deserve. The decision to end a marriage is never easy but we have grown apart and while it is, of course, difficult to go through something like this, I feel blessed for the time we had together and only wish the best for Tom always. I kindly ask that our privacy be respected during this sensitive time. Thank you 🙏 Gisele
It's always sad to see a marriage end, especially when children are involved. However, in this case Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen were able to settle their divorce quickly and quietly, hopefully making things less messy for Benjamin and Vivian.
March 2023: Gisele Bündchen Denies Issuing Tom Brady An Ultimatum About Football
Months after finalizing their divorce, Tom Brady retired from football as Gisele Bündchen returned to work. Co-parenting seems to be going well enough, but the supermodel has clarified a few rumors regarding the end of their marriage. Despite the widespread speculation that she was unhappy with her then-husband's return to Tampa Bay for one last football season, Bündchen called rumors that's she'd issued him an ultimatum “very hurtful” and noted they were “the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”
She also addressed people who accused her of leaving Tom Brady to focus on her modeling career, saying that no marriage is made or broken in a few short months, and that everything reported about their troubles had been false. "What’s been said is one piece of a much bigger puzzle," she said.
July 2023: Tom Brady Allegedly Dating Irina Shayk After Rumors About Kim Kardashian And Others
Tom Brady has continued to be the subject of dating rumors since his divorce, with speculation about him and Kim Kardashian refusing to die. Despite multiple reports that the two are just friends, the reality star admitted to having a celebrity crush and then allegedly revealed to friends that she liked the NFL star after taking 11 shots at a Fourth of July party.
There's also been speculation about the ex-quarterback with Reese Witherspoon and Emily Ratajkowski, however it appears Tom Brady is dating Irina Shayk, an ex of both Bradley Cooper and Kanye West. Shayk's representative initially denied romance rumors, but the two have now been seen in public a few times.
There's been no public confirmation from either party about this new alleged coupling, but we'll be keeping our eyes out.
