Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen to File for Divorce After 13 Years of Marriage
News of their plans to file comes after reports of trouble in their marriage following Tom Brady's un-retirement from the NFL.
Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen are taking the next big step to officially end their marriage.
According to multiple reports, the 45-year-old football star and 42-year-old supermodel will be formally filing for divorce in Florida on Friday. Per TMZ, citing sources with direct knowledge, the longtime couple have been working with a mediator and have supposedly come to terms on custody of their two children and a property settlement, but those terms will be sealed.
"They agreed to joint custody of the kids," a source tells People.
ET has reached out to reps for both Brady and Bündchen for comment.
The decision to go their separate ways after 13 years of marriage comes after the couple was reportedly having problems, which are said to have started after Brady made the decision to un-retire from the NFL.
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At the time, Bündchen voiced nothing but support for her husband's decision to return to the sport, but, per People, she "wasn't thrilled" with him ending his retirement from professional football after only two months. Bündchen was said to have been "so happy" when Brady announced his retirement, and was upset when he went back on that and reentered the world of football.
Rumors of a rift between the couple ramped up after Brady was excused from practicing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last month to "deal with some personal things."
According to head coach Todd Bowles, Brady and the team discussed the absence before the start of training camp in July.
Brady returned to practice after also missing two preseason games, and addressed his 11-day absence from the team late last month, telling reporters, "Everyone has different situations they're dealing with, and we all have unique challenges to our lives. I'm 45 years old, man."
"There's a lot of s**t going on, so you just have to try and figure out life the best you can. You know, it's a continuous process," he continued.
Not long after, Bündchen got candid about her marriage and her husband's un-retirement in a cover story for Elle's October 2022 issue.
"I've done my part, which is [to] be there for [Tom]," she told the magazine. "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. At this point in my life, I feel like I’ve done a good job on that."
Looking ahead, Bündchen told Elle that she's planning to make more space for her own dreams. "I have a huge list of things that I have to do, that I want to do," she said. "At 42, I feel more connected with my purpose."
She also addressed what she deemed a sexist trope perpetuated by the media, in which she is often characterized as desperate for her husband to retire.
"I think this is the system we’ve been living in. That’s what society has accepted and what society hasn’t accepted," Bündchen said.
"Obviously, I have my concerns—this is a very violent sport, and I have my children and I would like him to be more present," she added. "I have definitely had those conversations with him over and over again. But ultimately, I feel that everybody has to make a decision that works for [them]. He needs to follow his joy, too."
Speculation about a split was fueled even further after Bündchen -- who has long been a fixture at Brady's games -- was not in attendance at Brady's first NFL game since announcing his un-retirement. The quarterback made his return to the league for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' first game of the 2022-2023 season against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium, earning the team their first win of the season.
While she wasn't in attendance, Bündchen took to Twitter to show support for her husband in his season-opener, writing, "Let’s go @TomBrady ! Let’s go Bucs ! ✨✨✨."
Let’s go @TomBrady ! Let’s go Bucs ! ✨✨✨
— Gisele Bündchen (@giseleofficial) September 12, 2022Though the couple has been known to praise each other on social media, their marriage hasn't always been an easy one.
During an appearance on The Howard Stern Show in 2020, Brady opened up about some of the struggles that he and Bündchen -- who share son Benjamin, 12 and daughter, Vivian, 9, with Brady, who is also dad to Jack, 15, from his previous relationship with Bridget Moynahan -- had previously faced.
At one point in 2018, Brady said Bündchen "wasn't satisfied" with their marriage.
"A couple of years ago, she didn't feel like I was doing my part for the family," he explained. "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 ended, 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?'
The football great called it a wake-up call, and said it marked a "big transition" in his life, which prompted him to shift his focus to be more on his family.
His return to the field came at an especially busy time, with the quarterback starring and producing his 80 for Brady film. He also recently launched a golf line and already has his next job lined up once he decides to officially call it quits -- a career in the broadcast booth at Fox Sports.
Brady told ET in May that he's felt "guilty" about how much time he's had to spend away from his family due to his career.
"Being available to your kids is really important... I feel like I'm so driven to succeed in football and that's taken me away from other important priorities, which are my kids, my wife," Brady told ET, before praising Bündchen for holding down the fort. "She's really held it down for our family. I'm super grateful that she really committed so much of her time the last 14 years to make sure everything was so stable at home, so I could go live my dream. I look back at my parents, and my dad and mom did the same thing for me."
"I do feel, maybe, some guilt that I haven't been able to do that in the same way for my kids, but I'm doing the best I can do," he admitted. "I'm trying to be really conscious and aware of that, and then when I do have the time to spend with them, I'm really present."
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