Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen were one of the most beloved celebrity couples, but the pair divorced in October 2022, after 13 years together and the birth of their two children. Brady’s divorce also happened around the same time he was trying to focus on his last NFL season in 2023.
It was a time of change and significant challenges. In an interview with MLFootball, Brady opened up about the season and his personal life.
Tom Brady Discusses Final NFL Season
Brady was honest about the challenges he faced at the end of his career. “My last season was tough,” he said. “I was going through, I had a lot of, you know, a personal family issue. And it was a challenge, and it was very … it just took a lot out of me in terms of, you know, my ability to play.”
The Super Bowl-winning quarterback’s final season, which was 23 in total for his career, was a surprise for fans because he had previously announced his retirement in February 2022. However, he returned to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He had previously played with the New England Patriots for 20 seasons, People reports.
“I had 23 years of [football] so I didn’t think I was missing anything, retiring,” he said. “I felt like I always had a goal — 45.” At the time, he was 45, and he realized something: “I wanted to spend time with my kids, I felt like, okay, now it’s time for me to be at all my kids’ games. They’ve been to enough of their dad’s games.”
Brady is a father to three children: Vivian and Benjamin, whom he shares with ex-wife Bündchen, and Jack, whom he shares with ex-girlfriend, actress Bridget Moynahan.
Fans Show Support
Brady never specifically addressed the “personal family issue,” although many assume he was referring to his divorce from Bündchen. When his interview was shared on X by MLFootball, the publication wrote, “BRUTAL: Tom Brady spoke about how his divorce from Gisele Bündchen was rough on the final year of his career.”
Fans reacted to Brady’s interview with supportive comments. ”He actually didn’t say much about it, it was implied. Always trying to blame the ex-wife. The headline should have read how tough a decision it was to retire,” a comment reads. “It was sad to see Tom Brady retire, but he is now a legend in the booth,” another fan shared.
A third comment reads, “It’s gotta be hard when you’re so used to being able to focus 100% of your time and energy on football, and suddenly he wasn’t able to. On top of the heartbreak from the divorce? It’s really incredible we even got as much from his last season as we did.”
