Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady’s 13-year marriage looked like one of Hollywood’s most famous power couples from the outside.
But behind the scenes, a new book claims their relationship struggled for years, largely over Brady’s commitment to football.
Bündchen eventually delivered three words that reportedly ended any hope of saving their marriage.
The claim has surfaced just days before the release of Lars Anderson’s new book about Brady’s life and career, Brady: An American Story and the Price of Greatness.
Brady and Bündchen’s problems reportedly started long before they divorced
Brady and Bündchen married in February 2009 and had two children together, Benjamin and Vivian. The NFL star also had a son, Jack, from his previous relationship with Bridget Moynahan.
According to Anderson’s book, Bündchen’s concerns about Brady’s football career had been building for years.
One of the earliest moments described in the book happened after the Patriots’ dramatic Super Bowl win over the Atlanta Falcons in 2017.
Bündchen joined Brady on the field with their children but allegedly asked him, “Would now be the perfect time to retire?”
Later that night, she brought it up again.
Brady replied, “Too bad, babe. I’m having too much fun right now.”
The issue did not end there. Anderson also cited former Brady teammate Jay Feely, who said Bündchen once asked him to encourage Brady to retire as an act of leadership toward his family.
“She was d*ad serious,” Feely previously said.
Instead of convincing Brady to stop playing, Feely told him, “Play as long as you want.”
The book also claimed Bündchen took a more personal approach as she wrote a serious letter in 2018
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The book alleged Bündchen took a personal approach after the Patriots lost the Super Bowl to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018.
According to Anderson, she wrote Brady a handwritten letter explaining that their marriage was not working the way she wanted it to.
“She needed more of him, more of his time, more of his attention, more of his heart,” Anderson writes in an excerpt published by the Daily Mail.
The letter reportedly focused on everyday family life rather than asking Brady to quit football.
Bündchen allegedly wanted him to be more present at home instead of constantly checking his phone or thinking about games. She also wanted more help with their children, more sleep, and more time to focus on her own career.
The book claimed the couple went to marriage counseling, while Brady kept the letter in a drawer and later reread it on difficult nights.
A former teammate also argued, “She was getting tired of living on Tom’s schedule and being somewhat in his shadow during football season.”
The tension reached another major point when Brady was weighing whether to continue his career
At the time, Brady acknowledged the decision wasn’t only about what he wanted.
“It’s not always what I want,” he said. “It’s what we want as a family.”
On February 1, 2022, he announced his retirement after 22 seasons in the NFL.
But the retirement lasted only 40 days.
On March 13, Brady announced that he was returning for another season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it’s not now,” he wrote at the time.
Anderson’s account claimed the decision deeply affected the marriage. Bündchen publicly supported Brady, but the book alleged she was unhappy with his decision and spent time in Costa Rica.
The couple’s relationship continued to deteriorate over the following months.
According to Anderson’s book, the couple still had ordinary conversations during that period
The source in Anderson’s book claimed Bündchen spoke to Brady about their relationship through the lens of astrology.
“One day, Gisele, who is really into astrology, basically looked into the stars and told Tom, ‘We’re not compatible,’” the source said.
The book then describes Brady’s marriage as ending quickly, saying, “And just like that, she was done.”
The pair ultimately announced their divorce on October 28, 2022, after 13 years of marriage.
Bündchen described the decision differently in her own public statement.
“We have grown apart,” she wrote, adding that she felt blessed to have had their time together and wished Brady the best.
After Brady and Bündchen announced their divorce, they focused on co-parenting their kids
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Bündchen said her priority would continue to be Benjamin and Vivian and that they would keep co-parenting.
Brady similarly wrote that their children would remain “the center of our world in every way.”
Their relationship lives also changed in the years that followed.
Bündchen began a relationship with jiu-jitsu instructor Joaquim Valente and welcomed a child with him in February 2025. The pair reportedly married in December 2025 in a private ceremony surrounded by family and friends.
Brady, meanwhile, was later linked to model Irina Shayk and internet personality Alix Earle.
Brady’s new book looks closely at the price of his football obsession.
The three-word revelation comes from Anderson’s upcoming book, Brady: An American Story and the Price of Greatness, which is scheduled for release on September 29.
According to the book’s description, Anderson based the biography on more than 350 original interviews with people who knew Brady personally and professionally. The book examines how his extreme dedication to football shaped his career, daily routine, and role as a husband and father.
The book also presents the Brady-Bündchen marriage as part of a much larger story about the sacrifices behind his extraordinary football career.
“I guess being the NFL goat comes with a price,” wrote one netizen
