News that Tom Brady and his ex-wife Gisele Bundchen were going through a divorce surfaced not long after Brady changed his mind about retirement last year, but Gisele insists that decision had nothing to do with the split.
Bundchen in January spoke with Michelle Ruiz of Vanity Fair for a cover story that was published on Wednesday. At the time, it had been fewer than three months since Bundchen and Brady finalized their divorce. Not long before the split became official, a report claimed Gisele had given Brady an ultimatum — family or football.
Gisele says that could not be further from the truth. She called that narrative “very hurtful” and “the craziest thing I have ever heard.”
“That takes years to happen,” Gisele said of what led to the end of her and Brady’s marriage. “Wow, people really made it about that. What’s been said is one piece of a much bigger puzzle. It’s not so black and white.”
Bundchen added that she and Brady simply had different goals and could no longer accomplish them if they stayed together.
“When you love someone, you don’t put them in a jail and say, ‘You have to live this life,’” she said. “You set them free to be who they are, and if you want to fly the same direction, then that’s amazing.”
There were rumors for years that Gisele was unhappy Brady chose to continue playing after all he had accomplished. She insists that was never the case. Though, even Brady seemed to hint at one point that Bundchen was nudging him in the direction of retirement. Most wives in her situation probably would have done the same.
