Years before Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady announced the end of their marriage, she reportedly put her concerns down on paper.
Bündchen gave Brady a serious handwritten letter after the New England Patriots lost the 2018 Super Bowl to the Philadelphia Eagles, according to details from Lars Anderson’s forthcoming biography Brady: An American Story and the Price of Greatness published by Page Six. Anderson writes that Bündchen told her husband their marriage was not working and that she needed more of his time, attention and emotional presence.
She also wanted Brady to be more engaged when he was home, help more with their children and leave room for her to focus on her own career. According to the book, the couple later attended counseling as they tried to address the problems.
Brady and Bündchen remained married for another four years before finalizing their divorce in October 2022 after 13 years of marriage. Neither has publicly addressed Anderson’s account of the handwritten letter or the private conversations described in the book.
Brady Reportedly Kept the Letter and Returned to It
Anderson writes that Brady kept the letter in a drawer and occasionally returned to it as a reminder that his marriage required attention alongside the demands of his football career.
A former Brady teammate quoted in the biography described another source of tension. Bündchen had an enormous international career of her own but had grown tired of arranging so much of her life around Brady’s football schedule, particularly during the NFL season.
By then, Bündchen had stepped away from regular runway work but remained one of the world’s best-known models. The former teammate described an imbalance in how their careers shaped family life, questioning how often Brady had been able to support Bündchen’s work while maintaining the rigid schedule required by his own.
Bündchen Had Been Asking Brady About Retirement for Years
After the Patriots won Super Bowl LI in February 2017, Brady publicly acknowledged that Bündchen had repeatedly asked what more he still wanted to accomplish in football.
Her position surfaced again during a vacation with Brady’s former University of Michigan teammate Jay Feely. In a Sports Illustrated profile published in January 2018, Feely recalled Bündchen seriously trying to persuade him to convince Brady to stop playing.
Feely took the opposite position and encouraged his former teammate to continue for as long as he wanted. Brady ultimately remained in the NFL for five more seasons, leaving New England for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 and winning his seventh Super Bowl championship during his first season with the team.
Brady’s 40-Day Retirement Preceded Their Final Split
Brady announced his retirement in February 2022 after 22 NFL seasons, saying his wife and children deserved more of his time and energy. Forty days later, he reversed the decision and announced that he would return to Tampa Bay for another season.
According to the New York Post, Anderson’s book says Brady used an excused 11-day absence from Buccaneers training camp that August to meet with Bündchen as he tried to repair their relationship.
An insider quoted by Anderson claims Bündchen eventually told Brady they were “not compatible.” Neither Brady nor Bündchen has publicly confirmed that private exchange.
Brady and Bündchen Addressed Their Divorce Publicly
When Brady and Bündchen announced their divorce on Oct. 28, 2022, neither identified a single event as the reason for the breakup. Bündchen said they had grown apart and that caring for their children would remain her priority.
Brady described ending the marriage as painful and difficult while saying the former couple would continue working together as parents. They share son Benjamin and daughter Vivian, while Brady also has son Jack from his previous relationship with Bridget Moynahan.
PEOPLE documented that the divorce petition was filed and finalized the same day, with the former couple agreeing to joint custody of Benjamin and Vivian.
Anderson’s Biography Draws on More Than 350 Interviews
Anderson’s account of the marriage forms part of a broader biography examining the personal cost of Brady’s pursuit of success. Celadon Books, the book’s publisher, says Anderson drew on more than 350 original interviews with people who knew Brady on and off the field.
The 432-page biography examines Brady’s career from his early years through his retirement, including how his strict routines and commitment to football affected his roles as a husband and father. Brady: An American Story and the Price of Greatness is scheduled for publication on Sept. 29.