Tom Brady Discussed His Family’s Difficult Decision About Retirement
Tom Brady is perhaps the greatest living American footballer — and one of the oldest. But his success goes further than football. He also has a long-lasting marriage to supermodel Gisele Bündchen. You have to imagine, though, that the demands of professional sport can still put an immense strain on the strongest relationships. And ultimately, it's a major part of what led him to finally pull the trigger on retirement.
Difficult times
Brady’s relationship with Bündchen began with quite a shock. The couple discovered that Brady’s previous love interest, Bridget Moynahan, was expecting his child. Bündchen remembered the turmoil in her memoir, writing, “I felt my world had been turned upside down.” She took it in her stride, though.
Putting Tom first
The supermodel started thinking about kids of her own, in fact. She wrote, “With Jack [Brady’s son with Moynahan] in our lives, our priorities definitely started to shift.” She added, “I wanted to be there for Jack and Tom and do whatever I could to create stability in their lives and help them to have a close relationship.”
Having kids
Those kids of her own would follow soon enough. The pair tied the knot in early 2009, and they didn’t have to wait long for the union to be blessed with a child. Benjamin came along in December that year. Three years later, in the same month, the couple welcomed a daughter, Vivian.
Pure hearted
Bündchen described to Vanity Fair magazine in 2009 the shared values that had led her to get together with Brady. She said, “He’s very close to his family. He’s Catholic. His parents have been married 40 years. He’s got a pure heart. That’s all that matters — he’s got the purest heart.”
