From scandals to Super Bowls: Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen through the years
That’s one less ring for Tom Brady.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion has come to the “painful and difficult decision” of ending his 13-year marriage with Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen, 42, with whom he has two children.
It has been a wild ride for the pair, who — mirroring Brady’s NFL career — have experienced their share of ups and downs, particularly at the end of the line when Brady, 45, swapped life with the New England Patriots for a new chapter in sunny Florida.
Here’s a look back at Brady and Bündchen’s love life before the turnover on vows.
December 2006
Bündchen — whose longest relationship at this point was with Leonardo DiCaprio — and Brady go on a blind date at West Village wine bar Turks & Frogs. Things go so well that Brady invites Bündchen to her very first American football game the following January, but the experience comes up a few yards short of the goal line.
“I thought it was the most boring thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Bündchen said in ESPN’s Brady docuseries “Man in the Arena.” “In the end I was like, ‘I don’t know what to tell this guy,'” she added.
Aug. 22, 2007
Brady’s ex, Bridget Moynahan, gives birth to his son, John “Jack” Edward Thomas, now 15. The “Coyote Ugly” actress discovered she was pregnant after she and Brady, who dated for more than two years, split in late 2006.
Bündchen seizes at the opportunity to co-parent with the two, telling Vanity Fair in 2009 that Brady being a father “made me feel more in love with him… Our relationship has become so much stronger.”
Feb. 26, 2009
Although Brady told ESPN he didn’t anticipate marriage until his “late 30s, early 40s,” he weds Bündchen in southern California at the age of 31.
A second ceremony held in Costa Rica in April is far more dramatic, however. Gunshots drown out the sound of wedding bells when private security opens fire at paparazzi, striking an occupied SUV’s back windshield.
Dec. 8, 2009
The then-newlyweds welcome their first child together, a boy they named Benjamin Rein, now 12, who didn’t like sports growing up.
“Gisele kept saying to me, ‘Would you effing understand that your son is different?’” Brady told Men’s Health. “It was hard for me. I was like, ‘What do you mean? He’s a boy; he should just do all these things that I do.’ The reality is that Benny just likes different things.”
August 2010
Brady shows up to August training camp sporting a new, more luscious ‘do, sparking rumors that his wife made him get hair plugs for a seemingly recessive hairline. When asked during a radio interview what it would take for Brady to chop his locks, he responded: “You’ll have to speak to my wife about that.”
Dec. 5, 2012
A new member joins the Brady bunch — this time a girl named Vivian Lake.
An avid supporter of her dad’s football career, she loves meditation and doing yoga with her mom, People reported.
2014
Brady and Bündchen make headlines for their bizarre dietary restrictions.
Allen Campbell, Brady’s former personal chef, later told Boston.com that his client eats 80% vegetables and whole grains, along with 20% fish and lean meats. Brady and Bündchen also won’t touch sugar, anything that’s not organic or nightshade vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant or tomatoes. While Bündchen will eat fruit, Brady only opts for the occasional banana and says he’s never once eaten a strawberry.
Spring 2015
After a stunning victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, the pair hit a rough patch when Brady becomes embroiled in the controversial “Deflategate,” referring to the Pats’ 45-7 AFC championship win over the Indianapolis Colts, later sullied by reports of unauthorized deflation of footballs.
“Gisele was supportive, but she also was frustrated with his stress level and anger. She felt like he was taking things out on her and not being fair,” an insider told E! News of the very “difficult” and “withdrawn” Brady.
September 2022
After winning his seventh ring, Brady’s failure to retire is believed to be what brings the relationship down.
He misses 11 days of training camp with the Bucs for what he called personal reasons. Soon after, Page Six reports that the two are having marital issues and retaining divorce lawyers.
