When Tom Brady came clean about his tumultuous marriage with ex Gisele Bundchen - "She didn't feel like I was doing my part"
In 2022, Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen shocked the world by divorcing each other. For the better part of a decade, they had been one of the most prominent celebrity couples in the world, blessed with two children (plus another child of Brady's from a former relationship), only for it to end amidst reports of an ultimatum the model gave the quarterback: family or football.
However, Brady may have dropped a huge hint about that long ago. Back in April 2020, shortly after he joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in one of the most significant moments in NFL history, Brady sat down with Howard Stern on SiriusXM to discuss his marriage.
He made this startling revelation about Bundchen's thoughts on his priorities:
"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, and then all of a sudden when the season would end, I'd be like, 'Great, let me get into all of my other business activities. Let me get into my football training,' and she's sitting there going, 'Well, when are you going to do things for the house? When are you going to take the kids to school and do that?'"
Eventually, he had to concede her point:
"And that was a big part of our marriage. I had to, like, check myself. Because she's like, 'I have goals and dreams too. It's not just doing this and this. You better start taking care of things at the house.'"
Tom Brady on marriage with Giselle, says he stopped going to OTAs the past few years because Giselle wanted him to start carrying more of the load at home. “I had to check myself.” Says she “wasn’t satisfied with our marriage.” pic.twitter.com/2ktCSzTh8r
How Tom Brady's divorce led him to retire for the second and final time
Judging by Tom Brady's comments, that first feeling of dissatisfaction occurred in 2018, the same year his Patriots lost Super Bowl LII to the Philadelphia Eagles. And though he would win two more Lombardis afterwards, the stage had been set for the breakdown of his personal life.
But it did not truly manifest until that 2022 divorce, and according to ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington, it clearly took a toll on him and influenced his second (and final) retirement earlier this year.
He said on First Take:
"During his most hyper-focused time of his life, which is in-season, he went through the stress of a divorce — a traumatizing divorce to him. So, now he stepped back. He decided, ‘You know what, I need to recharge. I need to rebuild my life and get myself reenergized,’ and not for the football field, but just in general.”
Nine days after his announcement, Brady filed his retirement papers, indicating that he was finally done playing. He has since been enjoying life after football - bonding with his children and old friends, looking after his businesses, and meeting new people.