Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen have confirmed that he and Gisele Bündchen have finalized their divorce after 13 years of marriage.
The news was reported early Friday by People and later confirmed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback and supermodel in separate statements on Instagram.
"We arrived at this decision amicably and with gratitude for the time we spent together," Brady wrote, adding that he and Bündchen "will continue to work together as parents."
"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," Brady's statement continued. "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."
Bündchen's statement was similar, expressing fondness for their time together and prioritizing their children: "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," she wrote. "And while it is, of course, difficult to go through something like this, I feel blessed for the time that we have together and only wish the best for Tom always."
Brady and Bündchen share two children, 12-year-old son Benjamin and 9-year-old daughter Vivian Lake; Brady also has a 15-year-old son, John Edward, with his ex, Bridget Moynahan.
Reports of potential troubles in the couple’s marriage began to circulate earlier this year, soon after Brady announced he would be returning to football just two months after announcing his retirement. The 45-year-old in August was excused from practice in order to deal with some “personal” issues, though the quarterback nor the team specified what those issues were.
Brady’s impressive career in football began with the New England Patriots in 2001, where he played until 2019 before signing with the Buccaneers in 2020. In February of this year, Brady announced he would retire from football in order to focus his “time and energy on other things that require my attention.” Forty days later, Brady reversed the decision, writing in a statement: “I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands.”
At the time, Brady shared a photo of his teammates as well as a photo of Bündchen and their children wearing Buccaneers jerseys.
Still, Brady has been open in recent years about the difficulties of married life. Appearing on The Howard Stern Show in 2020, the football star said in part: "A couple of years ago, she didn't feel like I was doing my part for the family. She felt like I would play football all season and she would take care of the house.”
At the time, Brady said the conversation marked a turning point in his marriage and that he began to focus on his family more. In a subsequent 2021 discussion on his Let's Go! Podcast, Brady acknowledged that Bündchen gave up certain aspects of her own career in order to support him.
"You know, she hasn't worked as much in the last 10, 12 years just raising our family and kind of committing to being in a life in Boston and then moving to Florida,” he said of Bündchen.
The 42-year-old Brazilian began her modeling career in her home country in the 1990s, and made her debut at New York Fashion Week in 1996. She was consistently among the top-paid models in the world starting in the early 2000s, and is well-known for appearing as a Victoria’s Secret “Angel” from 1999 until 2006. Bündchen announced she had walked in her final runway fashion show in 2015, but said she would “still be working in other facets of the business.”
Brady and Bündchen met through friends in 2006 and were eventually engaged and wed in 2009.