Tom Brady ‘feels very hurt by’ Gisele, ‘she is the one steering the divorce’

While Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen were leaking stories and quotes about their marriage throughout September, I was pleasantly surprised by how subdued everything felt, like it wasn’t a full-on PR war. What a sweet summer child I was one month ago. When the news came out last week that Gisele had hired a divorce lawyer, suddenly the gloves came off and a PR war is now being fought. Page Six, People Magazine and Entertainment Tonight are all running exclusive quotes from sources close to both Brady and Bundchen. Something absolutely shifted significantly in the past week, and it’s fascinating to watch, just from a media-strategy perspective. Anyway, here are some highlights from easily a half-dozen stories:

Poor, dumb, pained Tom Brady: A source told People Mag: “It’s pretty obvious that he’s hurting. He feels very hurt by her. She is the one steering the divorce. She is playing offense and he is playing defense. He wants to protect himself, protect his interests, but he’s only starting to go the legal route in his defense from her. He doesn’t want this to be ugly, he doesn’t want to fight. If the divorce is happening — and it seems like it is — he wants it to go as smoothly as possible. Think about it: Tom has had a very charmed life. Things always seem to go his way. He works hard, he’s a good guy, he hasn’t had a lot of things go wrong in his life. This is awful for him. You can tell that this really, really hurts.”

Tom & Gisele have had problems for a long time: An insider tells People: “[The problems] are 10 years old. This has been going on forever. This is nothing new to either of them. Gisele is doing fine. She is getting her stuff in order. They are both over [fighting for their marriage] and it’s happening now so they can do their own thing and move on.”

Tom is Father of the Year! An insider tells People: “The kids love Tom. He is a great dad.”

The kids: Gisele “feels bad for the kids but she doesn’t expect any custody issues.”

Gisele is DONE: From People: Gisele Bündchen “is done” with trying to make her marriage to Tom Brady work, and is ready to “move on,” a source tells PEOPLE. The supermodel, who has been working with a divorce lawyer for “weeks,” a source previously told PEOPLE, is ready to end their 13-year marriage. “She is done with their marriage,” an insider close to Bündchen says. “She was upset about it for a long time and it’s still difficult, but she feels like she needs to move on. She doesn’t believe that her marriage can be repaired.”

Gisele is doing fine: She “is doing okay… She is just trying to figure out her life. She doesn’t have much contact with Tom. Gisele loves Miami. She has friends there. She can see herself living there permanently. Again, she is still trying to figure things out. She is doing yoga, meditating and taking care of herself. She doesn’t put any pressure on herself to make drastic decisions.”

Okay, so what I’m getting is that Tom wants it emphasized that Gisele is dumping him and he’s playing the victim – he’s devastated and sad and he feels abandoned, why won’t his hot wife come running back to him so she can put her career on hold forever and organize his life and raise his children? Bitches, amirite? Meanwhile, Gisele’s people are putting it out there that sure, she left, but she has well-documented reasons for leaving and everyone knows what she sacrificed so that Brady could play football. Gisele is radiating: unbothered, over it, done, moving on. I’m extremely curious to see what Divorced Gisele will look like and how much fun she’s going to have. Tom, on the other hand, will find the adjustment really hard.

Photos courtesy of Instagram.

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94 Responses to “Tom Brady ‘feels very hurt by’ Gisele, ‘she is the one steering the divorce’”

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  1. Neners says:

    When a woman’s fed up, it ain’t nothing you can do about it. It’s like running out of love, and it’s too late to talk about it.

    I hate the singer but nevertheless these lyrics are true. Men learn this lesson time and time again.

    • Emily_C says:

      I like “My Give a Damn’s Busted” by Jo Dee Messina for this kind of thing.

      “You can crawl back home, say you were wrong
      Stand out in the yard and cry all night long
      Go ahead and water the lawn
      My give a damn’s busted”

      • Neners says:

        An anthem! “I really wanna care, I wanna feel somethin’. Let me dig a little deeper. No, sorry, nothing.”

      • Colby says:

        Another Jo Dee that fits:
        “ Bye bye love I’ll catch you later
        Got a lead foot down on my accelerator and the rear view mirror torn off
        I ain’t never lookin’ back and that’s a fact
        I’ve tried all I can imagine
        I’ve begged and pleaded in true lover’s fashion
        I’ve got pride I’m takin’ it for a ride
        Bye bye, bye bye my baby, bye bye”

      • Liz Version 700k says:

        “My Give a Damn’s Busted” was playing at top volume with the windows down as I pulled out of the driveway to lead the movers with my stuff to my new house. My narcissistic ex-fiancé was at work and packed all my stuff up and got it out in one afternoon. I followed it up with an oldie but goodie…”Shut- Up and Drive” the movers were very worried and looking at each other like …why is she so calm. Because boys when you are THAT done you are relieved. The grieving already happened now you are in the BYE phase.

      • North of Boston says:

        “That good ol boy’ll find a band of gold on the stereo. Then his momma’s gonna call and say where’s she gone, he’ll say “down the road with the radio on”

        He FAFO She’s gone Tom.

    • BrainFog 💉💉💉😷 says:

      @Neners so very very true. It boggles the mind. I have been through a similar situation. Put my life on hold for a guy’s career. After 8 years of broken promises I was done. When I left he absolutely collapsed. He seemed to really not understand the problem, despite my complaining for years. I for one do not understand how the male brain “works”.

      • Aiglentine says:

        The entitlement is off the charts. A helpmeet is their birthright and if she walks they act as if a crime were committed.

    • JRenee says:

      Perfect lyrics lol. She’s tired of his sh!+!

      My concern is where are the kids currently? If they are living 4 hours apart, it’s got to be an adjustment for the kids too..

  2. cabooklover says:

    Of course the kids love him, he’s the fun time dad. It’s mom telling them to do their homework, brush their teeth, and eat their vegetables. Meanwhile, he comes in and has all the fun and then leaves again! I cannot with his poor me attitude over this, YOU brought this on dude!

    • AnnaKist- says:

      He might be hurting, but I’ll bet he will have a new younger totty on his arm even before the dust has settled on his marriage. You know, someone (*cough* busty) supportive, who is (*cough* A blonde model) always there to help him deal with his (*cough* dollars) grief over his broken family…. It’s the default for men like him.

      • SAS says:

        Lol nailed it @Annakist!! Tom will be just fine. I imagine they’ll both be repartnered in the next year.

  3. Chic says:

    Women don’t file for divorce when they have kids unless they are really over it. Can’t remember the TikTok on this.. Brady was warned and he persisted..now he finding out

    • Lolo86lft says:

      He is about to find out he can’t get his way forever.

      • Liz Version 700k says:

        This “I can’t get my way” idea seems pretty new and traumatic for him

      • Carolnr says:

        @ROBERTPHILLIPS
        I will believe it when a statement is made & even then they could still reconcile…

    • Robert Phillips says:

      No one has filed yet. They just both got lawyers.

      • Lolo86lf says:

        I think she will file for divorced soon because she knows he is already legally bound to play for this football season which ends in February 2023. But then again she may give him ONE more chance.

  4. Boxy Lady says:

    “Tom has had a very charmed life. Things always seem to go his way.”

    This is the problem. He’s used to doing what he wants and everyone and everything just falls in line with little adverse consequences for him. But you can’t cheat when it comes to quality time with your family.

    The fact that he reversed his retirement after not even 6 weeks says, “You know, I don’t like my wife and kids as much as I thought I did.” That may not be his intention but that’s the message conveyed by his actions. It’s beyond annoying that he seems to think he’s the only one hurting in this situation.

    • lucy2 says:

      Exactly. I bet they had this discussion every year, and he was always able to talk her into him playing again, just one more year, etc. And he probably fully expected her to cave in again and do it again this year, but she’s done.

  5. Zapp Brannigan says:

    I remember Lainey reporting that gossips in Boston were saying divorce was on the cards back when Tom and Ben Affleck were busted on that plane with nanny Christine (I think, that was her name?) So I can well believe these problems go way back. You live and learn TB.

  6. Seaflower says:

    “He works hard, he’s a good guy,” who arranged to deflate balls to give himself an advantage over his opponents, and supported (still supports?) tRump

    • ThatNotOkay says:

      This all day! I’ll be he’s anti-choice and still Republican. That’s a dealbreaker, ladies!

      • GoldenMom says:

        Excellent and appropriate 30 Rock callback…

      • Juls says:

        I wouldn’t be shocked if he has a serious mistress in Tampa too. Another reason for him to want to stay there so badly besides football.

      • girl_ninja says:

        If that’s the case then it wasn’t a deal breaker for her. She married the man. He didn’t just become a trumpet. She thought she their love would mitigate that. Or he wasn’t so loud about it and tbh, he never has been loud about it.

        She’s leaving (I’m guessing) because he did what he wanted to do, was negligent and went back on his word. He fucked around and found out. But so did she.

    • Lolo86lf says:

      He still a Republican of course, he’s rich! But I think he’s done being a Trump supporter. It looks like he will continue to be a fun dad every other weekend when he gets the kids lol. And in all this divorce will not nearly as messy as Brangelina’s.

      • Lady D says:

        Giselle is gunning for an every-other-weekend dad. I think she wants the two weeks with you and two weeks with me set-up. She seems determined to make him participate in their children’s lives one way or another. He can arrange to get the kids to school and picked up, make sure they have their lunch, homework done, and make it to the dentist on time. He can even interview for new nannies.

    • wwe says:

      They didn’t deflate balls. The NFL couldn’t prove anything. Brady said he didn’t endorse Trump.

  7. Angelica Schuyler says:

    You can look at many different pictures of them and see that Giselle had been the one putting in the work in the relationship. She’s always affectionate towards him, leaning towards him looking at him, etc while he stares straight into the camera. Even when he looks happy, he’s not reciprocating the affection towards her. His thing is always about himself, and her thing is always about him. I guess she’s had enough. And who could blame her?

    Also, I’ve noticed this dynamic in photos with other couples that don’t have the greatest relationships (Willnot & Kkkhate, Donald & Melania….)

  8. Mina_Esq says:

    But things are always supposed to go his way, you guys. Ugh. He will have some hot model on his arm within a month. He can’t handle facing the fact that something didn’t go his way. He will need to restore the balance. He needs people to praise him and be jealous of his “charmed life”. I can’t see him assuming a meaningful parenting role, so he will need a new woman to do that for him when the kids are at his house. Kind of like what Giselle did with his son from prior relationship. Mark my words. New lady in a month or two.

  9. A says:

    Of course she’s got to steer the divorce. He made her steer the marriage, too. Take some responsibility for your inaction for once, Tom, jeez.

    • Robert Phillips says:

      Here’s the part I don’t understand. Why did she leave the house. The kids live there and are comfortable there. Throw his ass out and make him find somewhere else to live.

      • Indywom says:

        That is when you know it’s over. The woman leaves the house. She ain’t coming back.

      • BeanieBean says:

        I think Gisele prefers Miami to Tampa, I know I would.

      • Jaded says:

        They have numerous homes so I don’t think it’s an issue of simply kicking him out, he’d just go live in some other sumptuous mansion.

      • A says:

        A very good question. I don’t know except I thought initially all the articles were saying she wanted him to do the parenting stuff so maybe that’s it? Like, you pack their lunches and get them on the school bus, Tom (imagine either of them doing that lol) I’m going to Miami. But even if that was the case, I have no idea why he’s still in the house and she’s not.

      • lucy2 says:

        Because he’s always been the one who gets to leave, for his career. She left, leaving him the responsibility of the kids, the house, their day to day lives there. She’s trying to teach him a lesson, and that was the biggest way to have an impact. If she kicked him out, or moved herself and the kids elsewhere, it would be just like any other day for him – he gets to focus on only himself.

      • Gobo says:

        Because it was about making him parent their children for once.

  10. Harla A Brazen Hussy says:

    Yes, of course he’s led a charmed life and that everything has been easy for him, he’s had a woman behind him every step of the way taking care of him, his homes, his progeny, everything that has enabled him to be Tom Brady.

  11. Steph says:

    They say the kids love him as if it’s a qualifier for being a good parents. Abused kids love their parents too…

  12. vertes says:

    G clearly communicated her requirements and expectation for T to keep his commitment. T either didn’t think she was serious or that he could change her mind.
    So often, men mistake women’s promises for empty or meaningless threats. Tom has clearly chosen a (very) little more time on the field in front of cheering fans over family life and his promise to his wife. The irony will be if he gets hurt & his playing days end anyway.

    • Lady Keller says:

      Men think women’s promises are empty or meaningless because most men are used to making meaningless promises. Tom has probably spent their entire relationship making empty promises. Now he’s shocked that Gisele is following through. I hope she gets out and lives her best life ever.

  13. rrabbit says:

    Tom is married to playing football. Playing football is number one, number two and number three in his life. Gisele has had enough of her and the kids barely making Tom’s top 10.

    • Lolo86lft says:

      Tom married the wrong woman. He should have married the stereotypical housewife who would have been happy to stay home all day taking care of the kids while he was out there in the football field being adored by millions of people all over the country. The same thing happened when Joe DiMaggio married Marilyn Monroe. He expected her to give up her acting career and stay home have kids and cook him delicious Italian dishes like his mother did when he was a boy.

      • Purplehazeforever says:

        I agree, but he wanted Gisele & if he wanted to keep her, he should have kept his promises. I’m sure he will be fine though. Men like him get remarried within 6 months to a year after a divorce.

      • Normades says:

        No he married the *right* woman. She put everything on hold for family. She sacrificed and bended for him and the kids. She’s done now. She’s left the room and turned off the lights. And haha never Leo or Brad, she’s too mature for their sorry assez.

    • Brassy Rebel says:

      It’s hardly ever mentioned, but Brady has been playing football since he was a kid. He’s now 45 years old. So we’re talking at least 30 years of taking hits and experiencing concussions. I know Gisele has talked about the long term damage he is doing to himself by refusing to retire. It borders on mental illness at this point that he insists on playing this violent sport long past the time most professional football players retire. It is wildly unfair, not only to his wife, but to his kids who supposedly love him so much according to his friends. She needs to get out of this situation before his brain is total mush from the effects of CTE and she feels obligated to stay with him rather than leave him once he has become a vegetable. And she knows that’s where he’s headed.

  14. CrazyHeCallsMe says:

    Well, the misogynistic bros can’t use the usual tropes against Gisele (gold digger after Tom’s money, etc.) cause her net worth is twice his. And Gisele is world famous. Internationally, Brady is known as Gisele’s husband. So I guess Tom has to lean into the woe is me trope to garner support for his toxic stupidity.

  15. Anonymous says:

    I can see Brad Pitt calling her. Hopefully, she will stay away.

  16. HeyKay says:

    These comments are 100% correct.
    G has done all the work, while T is Mr. Football.

    IRL, this is how it goes for lots of women. Why is it the men don’t see it?
    G has her own money and she has openly spoken about this, and yet, T and his ego must have never really listened.
    Tough hop idiot!

    The comment that BP will be calling her, made me laugh out loud!
    She is far too smart to go from idiot Tom to garbage Brad.

    Go forward G! with my best wishes.

  17. Purplehazeforever says:

    Men like Brady quickly get remarried. They need someone to take care of them while Giselle will be just fine being single.

  18. Well Wisher says:

    Why not go to couples therapy?

    • pottymouth pup says:

      what makes you so sure they haven’t or that he was even open to going to couples therapy?

    • Jaded says:

      Some people refuse relationship counseling, preferring to put the blame on their spouse. Mr. Jaded wanted to get counseling during his first marriage for many years because of some major problems in the relationship, but his now ex-wife refused, blaming him for being a *control freak*. He’s anything but, he’s actually too easy-going and she walked all over him until she walked out the door. For the past 8 years she’s been begging to get back together. SMH…

    • Emily_C says:

      Tom obviously does not respect Gisele. That cannot be fixed in couples therapy. Therapy is not a magic bullet, and sometimes can make things worse, like when one of the people is an abuser. Tom doesn’t seem to be abusive, but he’s totally neglectful. He needs an entire personality rework.

  19. TheOriginalMia says:

    Tom hates the disruption and distraction more than divorce. He probably thinks he can convince Gisele once the season is over. Tom would be wrong. He FAFO with his own wife. Gisele has every right to move on with her life. I highly respect her for putting herself first.

  20. Barbara says:

    His whining about what a good guy he is combined with the comment that they’ve had problems for ten years makes me wonder what he did back then that he’s afraid will come out. Did he get a little too close to some football groupie or something after their daughter was born? She’s around 10, isn’t she?

  21. Lucy says:

    I too divorced a very privileged man who’d lived a charmed life! Like Brady, he was seemingly very surprised, which was odd, because I’d spent EIGHT YEARS explicitly telling him what I needed for the marriage to work (just, you know, little things like “I need to not be the only parent to our children”) and he hadn’t made the slightest discernible effort in response. F*ck around and find out, gentlemen.

  22. Chantal says:

    Good luck Gisele! Reminds me of one of my favorite old school songs by Con Funk Shun – “I’m Leaving Baby” ( I’m leaving you for me). Anyway, sounds like she gave up a lot to support him/their marriage. She had a back up plan in case he reneged (returning to football), he did so she’s gone. It’s wonderful that her net worth is more than him. She obviously downgraded. I’m sure she’ll snag some billionaire and hopefully he will treat her and the kids right.

  23. Dutch says:

    The passage about how Gisele loves Miami so much makes me wonder if they saw Tom’s failed ownership gambit of the Miami Dolphins as their vision of a last-ditch band aid to save the marriage. Had it worked it would have been a good compromise: Tom gets to stay in football but in a more 9-5 capacity, they live in a more cosmopolitan city, Gisele gets more opportunities to resume her career. Instead it blows up under a cloud of legal actions and dirty dealing, he unilaterally decides to go back to playing AND signs up for a post player career that is as time consuming as being a player. Makes sense why she decided to peace out of the whole thing.

    • Lizzie Bathory says:

      I think this is a good point & so much seems to come back to what blew up with the Miami deal. If the marriage has been struggling for 10 years (since around when Gisele gave birth to their daughter), I could see them trying to find a way to duct tape things together until the kids were older. But here we are.

  24. Candy says:

    He ran to Bridget Moynahan right away, maybe that was the shift? Honestly, you just can’t ever fully recover from starting a relationship off on the wrong foot. I’ve tried, it doesn’t work. When Moynahan announced her pregnancy 3 months into the relationship, the fairy tale was over.

  25. Luna17 says:

    Gisele and Shakira can be single women on the town in Miami together and live their best lives without these dead weight men! I’ve found Gisele annoying over the years but maybe part of that was Tom’s influence. I’m rooting for her on this.

  26. Nika says:

    I’m all for leaving unhappy marriages, there is no pint in staying only for the kids. I just don’t understand the “she gave up her career for HIM” narrative. My mom had a half-time job soon after I and my brother were born. She kept her job and went back to school to get her diploma. All while my dad had a full time job (often away Monday – Friday) and second job almost every weekend. We had no nannies. If Gisele really wanted to focus more on her professional life, I’m sure there were ways to do it. She decided to focus on her kids, husband, family. That’s ok. But it was her decision and it’s funny when some people blame it on him.

    • Jaded says:

      Who looked after you then? If you had no mom and dad at home, and no nannies did you raise yourselves?

      • Nika says:

        We had mom and dad. We didn’t have stay at home mom. We were in the kindergarten and later in school during the day. And maybe it’s because we grew up in a small town, but I didn’t think it was weird to come home after school, do my homework and go play with other kids, while my parents were still at work.

    • AnneL says:

      Nika, what you’re describing isn’t really possible any more in the US. I used to come home and look after myself too, starting around age 9 or 10 (though my siblings were often there too). Now most states have laws against kids being left alone before a certain age. In Texas that age is 12, I think.

      I am not suggesting that’s wrong, just saying how it is. Of course there are plenty of people in the tough situation of needing to work but still not having enough to pay for decent child care. Parents like Tom and Giselle don’t have that problem.

  27. Jaded says:

    Even when TB finally stops playing he’ll still be completely consumed by football with his Fox gig. I think Gisele is so effin’ sick of football and of his completely single-minded focus on football over everything else, including his own health. Many moons ago I dated an NHL hockey player for 8 or 9 months and it was NOTHING but hockey, even during the off-season. He was dumb as rock too, thankfully the relationship ended when he was traded away. Tom’s been able to skate for a long time but playing one more year was the tipping point for her and I totally get it. It was always a one-sided marriage.

  28. Acclaim says:

    Good for her.

    She should do whatever the heck she wants to do.

    Divorce???

    Of course!!

  29. jferber says:

    Did he have plastic surgery to have his jaw reduced in width or is it just me that thinks so?

  30. Nicegirl says:

    Thank you

  31. MangoAngelesque says:

    How long before the Gisele/Leo rumors start up as people hope they are the next Bennifer 2.0 couple?

  32. Margo says:

    Tom will have Gigi on his arm before u know it. How’s Gisele gonna feel when Tom’s got several more kids with another hot model or two?

    She may think she forcing him to man up by leaving him but she’s still going to be 100 percent dealing with her kids full time plus doing the emotional work of these kids who are at a really terrible age to go through a split.

    Unless the house was abusive, and she had to leave immediately, I would respect her more if she quietly left and tried to shield the kids from the mess that has been unleashed by a high profile divorce.

    Up till now I thought she was doing this separation thing publicly to force him to quit and choose her over FB, but he’s not going to end his career like this.

    Why didn’t she leave immediately after he announced he would go back and play? The timing and tactics are weird. Unless she really DGAF and wants to hurt him where he ❤️, which is of course his career.

    Anyway she may be a hot successful woman but when the dust settles I don’t think she will fare as well as Tommy boy. And who will she wind up with, Leo would be a downgrade after TB12. (Don’t hate on me I am a G Stan!, just realistic about how divorce doesn’t make parenting fair.)

    • Godiva says:

      I don’t know Giselle, so I cannot know how she feels. But I get the feeling you have not been down this road, friend Margo. When you leave your partner and father of your kids bc he is full of empty promises and is not co-parenting, not after a couple of years, but after trying for more than a DECADE, you rarely find yourself looking back with regret. And you certainly do not look at their new partners with envy. You pity them. Bc you know how hard it was to squeeze the slightest effort out of that useless man, and you don’t wish that struggle on anyone. It can be quite the moral dilemma. Do I warn this new and frequently younger and less experienced woman to not flush ten years of her life down the toilet for this older man, who will not change, because people dont? Or do I keep the family boat steady and calm and let her deal with whatever hell he will put her through? But NEVER have I looked at those women (plural bc guess what, he did not change and they leave his selfish ass too) and wished I made a different choice.

      And further, these selfinvolved manchildren don’t really become more appealing with age. They grow old and wrinkled and bitter with the world no longer adoring them, like the bellyaching we are seeing from mr Brady here.

      What you’re communicating is, stay in that charade of a partnership, lest you be replaced by a younger woman who will turn him into the prince he always was meant to be. That’s not how this, or anything, works. Women are not rehabilitation centers, and men do not change bc we love them so good! Men change, like everyone else, only when they have to. And no one changes fundamentally. If he was a fixer upper to begin with, he always will be.

      I would speculate that Giselle, like so many of us, has long ago realized that he will never man up and be an actual co-parent, I really doubt that’s what she is trying to attain. She probably knows fully well that those kids depend on her and no one else for a decent childhood. Why should she go on playing a charade where he drops in for birthdays and photo ops? That’s not parenting, it’s PR, and a family is not a branding effort.

      If he is not pulling his weight, and you are financially independent (which is not always the case and I don’t want to sugercoat that fact) DROP HIM, he is only slowing you down. Go get a REAL partner instead, there are good men, women, etc ., out there who are not this entitled. And Margo, please, leave this stay-for-the-kids 1950s gender role conformity, where it belongs: in the previous millenium.

  33. Noxy says:

    This kind of thing is really scary to a party in a relationship when they held all the power and now their partner is done and suddenly has all the power because there’s nothing they can do or say to get it back.

    Like, I’m not saying he only cares about holding the power in the relationship and not Giselle herself. I’m not even sure he’s cognizant of how much power he held even though it seems very obvious from the outside. But he has to be panicking at this point.

    My ex always had the power in our relationship. All of it. I was with her on and off (always her who broke it off with me, of course) for 10 years. But when she went too far and it broke my ability to love her suddenly I found I was the one with the power and she really was panicking. It got to the point she was stalking me for literally years after I cut her off trying to trick me into picking up the phone to talk to her.

    Hopefully Tom isn’t cut from the same cloth and doesn’t try to give her hell in the divorce.