Inherently public personalities Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen went through an inherently public divorce last year. It was preceded by an inherently public period of stress and strain that seemed to be heading in that direction.
In a new interview with Vanity Fair, the former Mrs. Brady disputes the notion that she gave Tom an ultimatum that, if he continued his career, their marriage would end.
In the article by Michelle Ruiz, Bundchen says that suggestion was “very hurtful” and “the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“People really made it about that,” she said. “What’s been said is one piece of a much bigger puzzle. It’s not so black and white.”
As she explains the “bigger puzzle,” however, it’s not hard to connect Tom’s ongoing commitment to football beyond his 45th birthday as one of the reasons for the fundamental change in the relationship.
“Sometimes you grow together; sometimes you grow apart,” Bundchen said. “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. That doesn’t mean you don’t love the person. It just means that in order for you to be authentic and truly live the life that you want to live, you have to have somebody who can meet you in the middle, right? It’s a dance. It’s a balance. . . .
“When you love someone, you don’t put them in a jail and say, ‘You have to live this life.’ You set them free to be who they are, and if you want to fly the same direction, then that’s amazing.”
She said she watched Brady’s not-so-amazing playoff loss to the Cowboys. And she remained very defensive of his performance in what will be his final game, unless he unretires again.
“It was tough,” she said, “but you know what? Let’s just be honest. It’s a team sport and you can’t play alone. I think he did great under the circumstances that he had. I mean, he had no offensive line.”
Yes, it’s hard for a quarterback to play with no offensive line. Almost as hard as when you have to throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time.