Gisele Bundchen gave an exclusive interview to People Magazine this week. I think the point of it was her new sponsorship – she’s the Wellness Ambassador for Gaia Herbs, so much of the conversation is about wellness and how she’s very centered and healthy one year after her divorce from Tom Brady. Gisele moved on quickly, probably because the divorce was her idea. She and Tom worked out everything very quickly and quietly with a private judge and Gisele has never looked back. She talks about that and more with People Magazine, plus she brags about her alcohol-free and caffeine-free lifestyle. I’ve been alcohol-free for many years, but I would truly die if I tried to go caffeine-free. Some highlights:

Homeschooling her kids for several years: With the pandemic, Bündchen transitioned to homeschooling her son Ben, 13, and daughter Vivian, 10, with ex-husband, retired football icon Tom Brady. She also dealt with uprooting the family to move to Tampa Bay, Fla., for Brady’s final seasons of football before settling down in Miami after finalizing their divorce last October. In the background, she was also privately dealing with two ailing parents. “It’s been very tough on my family. It’s been a lot — in every area of my life,” she says. “I feel like whenever it rains, it pours. With all the different twists and turns that life takes, all we can do is the best we can given what happens in our surroundings.”

Giving up alcohol: “Right after I turned 40, actually, I felt a huge difference between when I had the glass of wine and when I didn’t have the glass of wine. It’s socially accepted to have a glass of wine. And people even say, ‘Oh, it’s healthy for you.’ Well, it is not healthy for me. If you want to ask of your body what I ask of my body, which is a lot, I can’t be having all these things (alcohol, caffeine) because they add up… I became more clear [after I stopped]. I felt a bit more foggy before. Now I’m very sharp and very present and I notice things that I didn’t notice before. When I’m not drinking, I’m sleeping much better. You have to be loving to yourself. You ask a lot of your body, you’ve got to do a reset. You have got to take care of this only vehicle you got, right?”

The importance of self-care: “No one is going to do it for you. The only person that’s going to make those choices is you. Because ultimately, you’re the first person who’s going to be impacted by it. But then, it’s your children, it’s your husband, it’s your family. You got to put the oxygen mask on you first…. It’s not a selfish thing. People have been teaching us that it’s selfish if you take care of you. How is that selfish? When you feel good, you’re a better mom, you’re a better friend, you’re calmer, you’re more patient, you’re more loving, you’re more grounded. So you can’t feel guilty about prioritizing yourself. Because that’s loving you and loving the people you love the most, which are going to be impacted by how well you are. Because if you’re sick, everyone’s hurts.”

Her kids are enrolled in school in Miami now: “They’re getting to know friends in school. They like it. It’s just all new. But they’re really liking it and they’re getting into their things,” Bündchen says. Vivi, 10, has joined the school swim team and Benny, 13, has been playing football for the first time. (He’s No. 12, just like his dad.) “He just started. I just feel so proud of them. They’re so loving. They’re growing up to be just so thoughtful and considerate of others.”

Vivi is into horse jumping. “She’s like, ‘Mom, I’m going to be a professional horseback rider.’ That’s all she wants to do. When I was getting into it, people were like, ‘Gisele, get out while you can.’ I was like, ‘I don’t think I can get out. She’s obsessed.'” Bündchen recently purchased a horse farm where Vivi can ride her horse, Item, in privacy, but she says she puts her foot down when her daughter asks for another. “Now she’s already trying to get other horses. she’s already like, ‘Mom. They told me I have to have a new horse to jump higher.’ I’m like, ‘You’re 10, calm down.’ Her horse jumps like a meter 20. ‘You’re going to be fine.’ I think it’s fine where you’re jumping right now.’ But she’s so courageous.”

[From People]

Vivienne begging her mom for a second horse after Gisele literally purchased a horse farm so Vivi can ride in peace? The rich really do not live like us. There’s a huge horse culture in Florida though, a whole competitive jumper/rider community where professionals train together and have affairs and such. Just ask Athina Onassis. As for the drinking thing – she’s right about not feeling foggy, and once you stop drinking completely, you realize how often you’ve been operating with a lowkey hangover and how often your sleep cycles have been affected by alcohol. There’s a period of adjustment too, where you’re like “wait, how am I supposed to get to sleep without a nightcap?” You’d be surprised by how quickly your body adjusts though.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.