With a glamorous romance spanning 16 years, Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen were once the power couple of Hollywood. Yet, their seemingly perfect union ended in a very public split.
Let’s dive into their journey, from picture-perfect moments to their eventual divorce.
The Complete Timeline of Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen’s Relationship
December 2006 – Love at First Blind Date
Tom Brady first met Gisele Bündchen on a blind date set up by a close mutual friend. In a 2021 interview with WSJ magazine, Brady recalled the fateful event and said,
“I think the one phone call that changed my life was my friend Ed, who called me one day and he said – I have this girl and I think you should call her. I ended up calling her and it ended up being the love of my life”.
January 2007 – Couple Alert!
Specifically on January 25, 2007, the news of the couple officially dating became public. An anonymous insider revealed to People magazine,
“They started dating just before Christmas”.
February 2007 – Past Catches Up to New Love
In an unexpected turn of events, Brady’s ex Bridget Moynahan announced her pregnancy with him. The news came as a shock to Gisele and Tom, who were only three months into their relationship at the time.
The supermodel later revealed in an interview with This Morning‘s Charlie Rose, that she considered breaking up with Brady. Gisele said,
“It was a challenging thing because here I am, you know, thinking, I’m dating this guy, we met, and we started dating and everything is great and then this happens. So, then I felt like I didn’t know what to do. It was kind of one of those moments of like, do I just run away?”
August 2007 – Embracing A Blended Family
On August 22, 2007, Tom welcomed his first child, John Edward Thomas Moynahan, with his ex, Bridget Moynahan. The family dynamic was new for Gisele to navigate, but she embraced Tom’s son as her own.
Speaking with the People magazine, Bündchen revealed,
“I know this was hard, but I couldn’t imagine my life without Jack. I call him my bonus child. He opened my heart in ways I didn’t even know my heart could expand”.
May 2008 – Red Carpet Debut
On May 5, 2008, Tom and Gisele made their red carpet debut as a couple while attending the Met Gala event in New York City. The supermodel walked the carpet in a silky pink gown, while Brady donned a classic black tuxedo. The couple didn’t shy away from some PDA as they posed for the cameras.
January 2009 – Sealed With a Ring!
On January 9, 2009, Brady and Bündchen took the next step in their relationship as they got engaged. Brady popped the question in Los Angeles with a massive solitaire diamond ring, to which the Brazilian model said yes!
An insider told the People magazine,
“He asked and she accepted. The couple is discussing a huge fashionista event in the spring or a more intimate and quicker ceremony in Costa Rica…”.
February 2009 – Tom and Gisele Said “I Do”!
On February 26, 2009, Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen tied the knot in an intimate ceremony at St. Monica Catholic Church in California. They kept the details and pictures of their wedding private until their ninth wedding anniversary in 2018.
December 2009 – Welcome to Parenthood
On December 8, 2009, Tom and Gisele welcomed their first child together – a baby boy named Benjamin Rein Brady. During an ESPN+ series called Man in the Arena: Tom Brady, the NFL royalty opened up about the birth of his son. He said,
“Me being there with G at his birth in our home, it lives in my mind. I think we brought this boy into the world in the most precious way”.
May 2010 – Met Gala Return
On May 3, 2010, Tom and Gisele made their Met Gala comeback. They walked the iconic Met steps as a glamorous power couple after welcoming their son. Gisele looked stunning in a black ruffle midi dress and smokey bold eyes next to Brady, who had his arm wrapped around her in a close embrace as they posed radiantly on the carpet.
December 2012 – Second Bundle of Joy
On December 5, 2012, the couple welcomed their daughter – Vivian Lake Brady. In a Facebook post (now deleted), Gisele penned a heartfelt caption for her daughter. She wrote,
“We feel so lucky to have been able to experience the miracle of birth once again and are forever grateful for the opportunity to be the parents of another little angel”.
May 2015 – Love on the Rocks?
In May 2015, rumors of Tom and Gisele’s separation and divorce were hot in the market. The couple was said to be going through a rough patch in their marriage. However, all speculations were firmly shut down by Tom Brady himself who released a statement saying,
“We’re in a great place, I’ll just say that I’m a lucky man. I’ve been very blessed with support from my family and certainly her… I’ve been very blessed to have an incredible relationship with my life partner, and I don’t think anything will ever get in the way of that”.
September 2016 – Lovefest in Italy
On September 29, 2016, Mr. and Mrs. Brady were spotted vacationing together in the Amalfi Coast, in Italy. The couple grabbed dinner at a restaurant in Capri after exploring the island and enjoyed sunbathing on a wooden speed boat in Positano.
June 2018 – Vogue’s 73 Questions
On June 14, 2018, Brady and Bündchen appeared on an episode of the classic Vogue’s 73 Questions series, uploaded on YouTube. The couple invited the interviewing team into their beautiful Massachusetts home. While the supermodel was the main guest, her husband Brady also made a special appearance.
February 2019 – I Stand By You!
On February 21, 2019, Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen graced the Hollywood for Science Gala held in Los Angeles, California. Tom proudly posed for the cameras in support of Gisele, who was honored at the event for her groundbreaking environmental activism work.
October 2021 – Love Note for Gisele
On October 25, 2021, Brady spoke about his wife on an episode of his SiriusXM podcast, Let’s Go! With Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray. He opened up about Bündchen’s sacrifices and how she has kept the family together, saying,
“I think there’s things that she wants to accomplish. You know, she hasn’t worked as much in the last 10, 12 years just raising our family…”.
February 2022 – Time To Pass on The Torch
On February 1, 2022, Tom Brady announced his retirement from the NFL. His decision stemmed from wanting to dedicate more time to his family. Gisele penned down an emotional statement on her X account in support of her husband’s decision.
March 2022 – A Short-Lived Retirement
On March 14, 2022, only after six weeks of announcing his retirement, Brady returned to the NFL field to play his 23rd season. To announce his changed decision, he took to his X account and wrote,
“These past two months I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it’s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG”.
Gisele showed her support to the NFL quarterback in the comments. She replied,
“Here we go again! Let’s go lovvvey! Let’s go Bucs!”
May 2022 – Marriage Survival Guide
On May 18, 2022, in an interview with the British Vogue, Gisele revealed some secrets of her long-lasting relationship with Brady. She said,
“I don’t think relationships just happen; it’s never the fairy tale people want to believe it is. It takes work to be really in sync with someone, especially after you have kids”.
September 2022 – Hitting A Rough Patch
On September 7, 2022, news of the couple spending time apart and going through some difficulty in their marriage came to light when an insider spilled the beans exclusively to People magazine. The anonymous source said,
“There’s a lot of tension. She was so happy when he announced his retirement, and she wasn’t thrilled at all when he went back on that. They’re hitting a rough patch. But I know they’re trying, or at least he’s trying, to figure it out and make it work. He wants to get through this and for things to get better.”
September 2022 – Gisele Speaks Her Side of the Story
Following the insider news incident, Gisele revealed her reasons for being concerned about Tom’s return to the NFL. In an ELLE cover story published on September 13, 2022, the Victoria’s Secret beauty 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. 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… I’ve done my part, which is [to] be there for [Tom]… to be there supporting him and his dreams”.
October 2022 – Marriage at a Standstill
On October 7, 2022, a source close to Gisele revealed that the model sees no return to her once happy married life and is done trying to hold it together. In an exclusive with People magazine, the insider said,
“She is done with their marriage. 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… She is just trying to figure out her life. She doesn’t have much contact with Tom”.
October 2022 – Calling It Quits!
On October 28, 2022, Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen legally separated from each other after 13 years of marriage. Brady took to his Instagram to announce the couple’s heartbreaking decision of ending their marriage.
He wrote in his statement,
October 2022 – Tom’s Divorce Thoughts
On October 31, 2022, on an episode of his podcast, Let’s Go! With Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray, Tom addressed his divorce with Bündchen. He said,
“Obviously, the good news is it’s a very amicable situation and I’m really focused on two things, taking care of my family and certainly my children… We all have our unique challenges in life. We’re all humans. We do the best we could do”.
March 2023 – Gisele on Her Divorce
After several months of her divorce from Tom, Gisele opened up about the couple’s split in an exclusive cover story with Vanity Fair, on March 22, 2023. She said,
“We’re not playing against each other. We are a team and that’s beautiful. I look back and I have no regrets. I loved every bit of it.”
May 2023 – Mother’s Day Shout-Out
On May 14, 2023, Brady shared a Mother’s Day post on his Instagram including one snap of his ex-wife and the mother of his two children, Gisele Bündchen. In one of the pictures, the model is adorably holding their children.
August 2023 – Hearts Heal, But Still Ache
On August 8, 2023, in an interview with Vogue Brasil, Gisele spoke about the challenges of her divorce from Brady and how she was working on moving forward. She said,
“I’ve always believed that every situation, no matter how challenging, teaches us something and helps us grow. Breakups are never easy, especially when the media is speculating every step of the way”.
March 2024 – Balancing Co-parenting
On March 7, 2024, in an interview with Good Morning America, Gisele Bündchen got emotionally raw about trying to strike a balance in co-parenting with Brady after their divorce.
Speaking with host Robin Roberts, she said,
“It’s definitely a time of a transition that had to take place. I don’t think you wish for that. But I think sometimes in life, things happen… There’s easier days than others, but I think the kids, they’re super smart children… It’s natural that [they] have different rules and then kids just adapt. I can only control what I do”.
While their marriage has ended for good, Gisele and Tom have prioritized the well-being of their family. The former couple are working together to co-parent their children.
Meanwhile, the NFL player has moved on with a new supermodel, Irina Shayk, since June 2023. Head over to my in-depth article about Tom Brady’s girlfriend for his latest romantic quest!
Wondering who else the star athlete has dated? Check out Tom Brady’s complete dating history for the full list of his exes.