Gisele Bündchen has moved forward from her divorce from Tom Brady, but getting to this point was not easy.
Nearly four years after the former couple ended their 13-year marriage, a source close to Bündchen tells PEOPLE that the model is no longer holding onto hard feelings about their split.
“She always thought she would be married to Tom for the rest of her life,” the source said. “The divorce was very upsetting, and she struggled to understand it at the time, but she’s not bitter.”
Bündchen, 46, and Brady, 49, finalized their divorce in October 2022. The former couple share two children, son Benjamin, 16, and daughter Vivian, 13.
While the end of their marriage was painful for Bündchen, the source said she now looks back on their years together from a different place.
She is “grateful for their children and the years they shared,” according to the insider, who added, “She’s very spiritual and looking back, she feels the universe had another plan for her.”
Gisele Bündchen Previously Explained Why Their Marriage Ended
Bündchen has previously pushed back against speculation that Brady’s decision to return to the NFL after briefly retiring was the sole reason behind their divorce.
According to E! News, Bündchen said there was much more behind the breakup than one decision.
Brady’s football career had caused some tension in their marriage. He acknowledged in 2020 that Bündchen felt he needed to contribute more at home, while she later spoke about wanting him to be more present with their family.
Still, Bündchen called reports that she made Brady choose between his career and his family “very hurtful” and “the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“What’s been said is one piece of a much bigger puzzle,” she told Vanity Fair in 2023. “It’s not so black and white.”
Bündchen instead described their split as something that happened as their lives changed over the years.
“Sometimes you grow together; sometimes you grow apart,” she said. “As time goes by, we realize that we just wanted different things, and now we have a choice to make. That doesn’t mean you don’t love the person.”
A new book about Brady also sheds more light on the months leading up to their divorce. In “Brady: An American Story and the Price of Greatness,” author Lars Anderson claims Brady took an extended break from Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp in the summer of 2022 to privately work on his marriage with Bündchen in the Bahamas.
The couple ultimately finalized their divorce that October.
Gisele Bündchen Is ‘Really Happy’ in Her New Chapter
Bündchen has since built a new life with jiu-jitsu instructor Joaquim Valente.
The couple welcomed a son together in February 2025 and later married in December of that year. Bündchen has not publicly revealed their son’s name.
A source told PEOPLE that becoming a mother again has been a meaningful part of Bündchen’s new chapter.
“She feels so blessed to have become a mom again,” the insider said. “She loves the life she has with Joaquim and their family in Miami.”
Another source previously told the outlet in March that Bündchen was “really happy” following their intimate wedding and that becoming husband and wife made their relationship feel even more meaningful.
Despite how her marriage to Brady ended, Bündchen has also made it clear that moving forward did not mean wishing anything negative for her ex-husband.
“I have always cheered for [Tom], and I would continue forever,” she previously told Vanity Fair. “If there’s one person I want to be the happiest in the world, it’s him, believe me.”
Comments
Gisele Bündchen Reveals How She Really Feels About Tom Brady Divorce