Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady hire divorce lawyers

The year 2022 has brought winds of change for supermodel Gisele Bündchen and footballer Tom Brady. The 45-year-old American football star announced his retirement on February 1, 2022, only to retract just a month and a half later. Brady had decided to leave behind a successful sports career to focus on his business and family life, a decision that seemed to please the 42-year-old Brazilian supermodel. But his return to the game has sent shockwave through the family. For weeks, the American media have been speculating about a rift between the couple, who have been married for more than 13 years. Now it seems their suspicions have been confirmed. As the always inquisitive New York tabloid Page Six has reported, and sources close to the couple have confirmed to CNN and People magazine, both the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the former Victoria’s Secret angel have hired divorce lawyers to negotiate what seems to be an imminent split. The couple has been living separately for two weeks.

At stake are more than 15 years of relationship, two children (plus another from Brady’s previous relationship) and many millions of dollars. According to Reuters, Bündchen has a fortune of around $400 million. Brady, who Forbes named the ninth-highest paid athlete in 2022, has made almost $84 million this year alone. Of this amount, $52 million was thanks to advertising campaigns. When he retires, he will not be without an income: he has signed a contract with the Fox network as an analyst. As a result, he will pocket $375 million over the next 10 years. In addition, the two have a joint portfolio of assets worth $26 million. Among other properties, they own a house valued at $17 million that they bought less than two years ago in Indian Creek, Florida, an apartment in New York, a ranch in Montana and a vacation home in Costa Rica.

At the beginning of September, various media outlets reported that Brady and Bündchen had a serious fight at the end of August. In an unusual gesture, the seven-time Super Bowl winner missed 11 days of training that month, explaining that it was due to “a personal matter.” “I am a 45-year-old man. There’s a lot of shit going on,” he told the media after returning to training.

The couple lives in the city of Miami. Last weekend, Brady played in Tampa against the Kansas City Chiefs. Both Brady and Bündchen traveled to Tampa, although, according to the tabloid, they stayed in different places. The children went to the stadium to see their father, but the supermodel did not.

According to various sources, Bündchen had applauded Brady’s decision to retire in February. But she doesn’t appreciate the speculation that she is angry that he has decided to return to the game.

Last September, the Brazilian who was once the highest-paid model in the world appeared on the cover of Elle. Although the interview was conducted before the couple’s relationship problems made the news, she gave some brushstrokes about what Brady’s return to the sport had meant. “I would like him to be more present,” she said. “I moved to Boston, and I focused on creating a cocoon and a loving environment for my children to grow up in and to be there supporting him and his dreams. Seeing my children succeed and become the beautiful little humans that they are, seeing him succeed, and being fulfilled in his career – it makes me happy.” She then clarified, “I feel very fulfilled, as a mother and as a wife. And now it’s going to be my turn.”

The couple began their relationship in 2006 and secretly married in February 2009, in an intimate ceremony in Santa Monica. “We planned it in 10 days, and it was perfect,” the athlete explained in an interview with GQ shortly after. At the afterparty, they ate barbecued ribs, champagne, cake and some ice cream, he recalled. In April of that year, the couple got married for a second time at the model’s house in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. Less than a year later, their first child, Benjamin, now 12 years old, was born, and in December 2012 their daughter Vivian was born. According to Page Six, both would like to share custody of the children.

The quarterback has another child from a previous relationship with actress Bridget Moynahan. The couple separated in 2006 after a two-year relationship, but neither Moynahan nor Brady knew that she was pregnant with their son, John. Both found out after the athlete had already started dating the Brazilian model. In a 2019 book, Moynahan explained how complicated it was to be a single mother and be in the news after her separation from Brady. She acknowledged, however, feeling lucky that John grew up with people who loved him.