Gisele denies giving Tom Brady retirement ultimatum, reveals real reason behind divorce

Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen has finally broken her silence and put to rest all the speculations surrounding what led to her divorce from NFL legend Tom Brady after 13 years of marriage. The most interesting part is that she flat out denied that the split had anything to do with Brady's decision to famously "unretire" in early 2022.

It may be remembered that Brady announced his retirement from professional football in February last year. Just 40 days later, he announced that he would be rejoining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for another season. Then, he missed eleven days of pre-season training to deal with "personal issues."

Not long after, the couple announced their divorce which was finalised in the blink of an eye. "In recent days, my wife and I finalized our divorce from one another after 13 years of marriage," Brady wrote in a social media post in October 2022, several months after he made the decision to return to the NFL.

"We arrived at this decision amicably and with gratitude for the time we spent together," he added, in a statement that echoed what Gisele had also announced at that time. Both of them emphasised their desire to focus on co-parenting their children and giving them the best lives possible despite the circumstances.

Media exploded with reports about an "ultimatum"

When it became clear that trouble was brewing in the marriage and the divorce was eventually announced, the entire world immediately jumped to the conclusion that the split stemmed from Brady's decision to keep playing.

Now, a year since the "unretirement" announcement, Gisele has come out to say that it was not the reason behind their split. In fact, she called the reports "very hurtful" and "the craziest thing I've ever heard."

She sat down for an exclusive tell-all with Vanity Fair's Michelle Ruiz, who spent two days with her in her sanctuary in Costa Rica. It may be remembered that she also jetted off there in the weeks before the divorce was made public.

At that time, the media was convinced that Gisele had opposed Brady's plan to continue his NFL journey, and the Brazilian has now admitted that she is livid over how the reports made her appear to be "against football."

How Gisele really feels about football and Tom Brady's career

The former Victoria's Secret Angel sounded frustrated when she explained that she had in fact invested much of her time and energy into becoming Brady's biggest fan. "Are you kidding me? I learned about it! I used to joke that I was going to be able to be the ref because I've watched so many games. And I loved it," she said.

There is evidence to prove what Gisele is saying, as she had definitely been seen in the stands supporting Brady on a regular basis. She was often photographed giving him a kiss after victories, and was also there to support even when games did not go so well which was not very often throughout their 13-year marriage.

The seven-time Super Bowl winner also enjoyed the support of his children with Giselle, Benjamin Rein, 13, and Vivian Lake, 10. She would often take them with her to watch his games, along with his son Jack, 15, whom he shares with ex-partner Bridget Moynahan.

Such was Gisele's support that she even built him pregame altars made of "healing stones" and prepared floral baths to help him calm down and perform better on the field. Understandably, after all that she had done, she did not appreciate being made to look like she was not behind Brady when it came to football.

The real reason behind the divorce

Now that the ultimatum issue is out of the way and completely debunked, the question about the real reason behind the divorce remains. "It's not so black and white," she said, adding that there were many factors to a much bigger puzzle.

However, she also denied that a difference in political opinion and a bad investment in cryptocurrency drove the wedge further between them. She struggled to summarise exactly what led to the split, saying only that "Sometimes you grow together; sometimes you grow apart."

She emphasised that she and Brady built their lives together after meeting at a time when they had the same goals. However, as time passed, they simply "wanted different things" Gisele then spoke about how she did not "want to be limited" while trying to explain why the divorce was inevitable.

"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."

Finally, she assured that she continues to cheer for Brady and is hoping for him to find success in the next chapter in his life. At the end of the 2022 season, Brady retired from the NFL again, this time for good.