Gisele Bündchen is opening up about her split from Tom Brady in a candid new interview.
Six weeks after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback announced his re-retirement from the NFL and nearly five months after he and Bündchen finalized their divorce, the Brazilian supermodel tells Vanity Fair, "it’s like a death and a rebirth."
"It’s tough because you imagine your life was going to be a certain way, and you did everything you could, you know?" she said.
The comments featured in the 42-year-old's Vanity Fair cover story mark her first public remarks about the breakup of her 13-year marriage to Brady since she shared a statement on social media immediately following their divorce announcement.
"With much gratitude for our time together, Tom and I have amicably finalized our divorce,” she wrote in an Oct. 28 post on her Instagram story. “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.”
Bündchen added, “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.”
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There were rumors that the couple split due to Brady's choice to un-retire from the NFL in March 2022, only 40 days after announcing his initial decision to step away from professional football.
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"What’s been said is one piece of a much bigger puzzle. It’s not so black and white," Bündchen told Vanity Fair in response to being asked if his un-retirement played a role.
"When I was 26 years old and he was 29 years old, we met, we wanted a family, we wanted things together. As time goes by, we realize that we just wanted different things, and now we have a choice to make."
Bündchen added that she remains his biggest cheerleader regardless of their martial status.
“If there’s one person I want to be the happiest in the world, it’s him, believe me," she said.
Bündchen and Brady, who began dating 16 years ago and wed in 2009, have two children together: son Benjamin, 13, and daughter Vivian, 10. She revealed to Vanity Fair that Benjamin and Vivian were born in their Boston home via water birth. Bündchen was also stepmother to Brady’s son Jack, 15, whom he shares with actor Bridget Moynahan. Bündchen told Vanity Fair that she has a "great relationship" with Moynahan and learned how to navigate custody agreements with Brady based off of their years being co-parents to Jack.
Since persuing those separate chapters, the former couple haven’t made any appearances together — except in a brief exchange on Instagram.
On Dec. 5, Brady shared a photo of himself hugging their kids, accompanied by a message in honor of Vivian's 10th birthday.
"We adore you and your beautiful heart!" he wrote. "You bring so much joy to our life! We love you."
Gisele replied to the post with a simple red heart emoji.
Vanity Fair’s April 2023 issue hits newsstands on April 4.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
