Gisele Bündchen delivered a blunt three-word verdict to Tom Brady before ending their 13-year marriage, according to a new biography of the NFL legend.
The supermodel, 46, reportedly told her then-husband, 49, “We’re not compatible” after consulting astrology, an insider close to Brady told author Lars Anderson for “Brady: An American Story and the Price of Greatness,” obtained by outlets Friday. Anderson writes that “just like that, she was done” with the union that would formally dissolve in October 2022.
The book, due September 29, traces the collapse to Brady’s refusal to walk away from football. Bündchen had allegedly pressed for retirement since at least the 2017 Super Bowl, when the New England Patriots completed their historic comeback against the Atlanta Falcons for Brady’s sixth title. Rather than celebrating the victory, she rushed the field and asked, “Would now be the perfect time to retire?”
She reportedly raised the question again later that evening. Brady’s alleged response: “Too bad, babe. I’m having too much fun right now.”
Jay Feely, Brady’s former University of Michigan teammate, vacationed with the couple weeks after that championship. In a past interview with Sports Illustrated’s Greg Bishop cited by Anderson, Feely recalled Bündchen recruiting him to intervene.
“She was dead serious,” Feely stated. He declined the mission, telling Brady instead, “Play as long as you want.”
The tension resurfaced after the 2018 Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Anderson writes that Bündchen composed a serious note demanding Brady’s full presence at home, not absorbed in text messages or game replays. “She needed him to be present when he was at home, not responding to text messages on his constantly buzzing cell phone or replaying a game in his mind,” Anderson stated.
“She needed more help with the kids. She needed the chance to sleep in just a few days a week. She needed more time for her own career.”
A former football player in Brady’s circle assessed the lifestyle burden on Bündchen, who Anderson notes was “a bigger international star” growing weary of her husband’s rigid schedule. “The guy gets up at the crack of dawn, thinks all day about a game that is foreign to his wife, comes home and is in bed each night by nine,” the pal said. “He can’t really eat out or go out without causing a scene. Everything he puts in his mouth tastes like s–t. The whole lifestyle had to be getting tiresome for Gisele.”
Brady finally announced retirement in February 2022 after two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, following 20 years with the Patriots. The reprieve lasted barely a month.
“I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands,” Brady wrote via X, then Twitter. “That time will come. But it’s not now.”
Anderson reports that Bündchen, despite public support, was privately furious and briefly fled to Costa Rica. Brady’s return to training camp that season was marked by weight loss, distraction, and private doubts about his choice, according to conversations Anderson conducted with former coaches and teammates.
The marriage officially ended on October 28, 2022, with both prioritizing their children: Benjamin, now 16, and Vivian, now 13.
“We have grown apart and while it is, of course, difficult to go through something like this, I feel blessed for the time we had together and only wish the best for Tom always,” Bündchen wrote via Instagram at the time.
Bündchen has since remarried jiu-jitsu instructor Joaquim Valente in December 2025; the couple share a 1-year-old son. Brady has been linked to model Irina Shayk and internet personality Alix Earle.
The biography arrives as Brady continues building his post-playing career in broadcasting and business ventures.