Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen’s divorce in 2022 ended one of sports and fashion’s most closely watched marriages, but new details suggest the relationship had become deeply strained long before they separated. In Brady: An American Story and the Price of Greatness, author Lars Anderson examines the final months of their 13-year marriage and how the breakup affected Brady. The book, available from Sept. 29, includes accounts of Brady’s attempt to repair the relationship, his dramatic weight loss and the personal tensions surrounding the split. It also examines his reaction to Bündchen’s life after their divorce.
What happened when Tom Brady tried to save the marriage?
During the 2022 Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp, Brady asked for “an extended leave from camp” so he could deal with personal matters and try to repair his marriage with Bündchen privately in the Bahamas.The quarterback told quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen, “I’ve got to take care of some personal things.”Christensen noticed a major change in Brady and described his “lifeless stare.” He believed the seven-time Super Bowl champion “may have been experiencing a form of psychological shock.”“Something had blindsided him — something very bad and something that had completely devitalized the forty-five-year-old man.”The effort ultimately did not prevent the divorce, which the couple finalized in October 2022.
Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen (Getty Images)
Why did Tom Brady lose so much weight?
Brady’s physical condition also raised concerns inside the Buccaneers. He arrived at training camp nearly 20 pounds lighter, leaving coaches and teammates wondering if he “was ill.”Former Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians told Anderson, “It was very clear that the reason for the weight loss was the stress from the personal issues he was dealing with.”Arians added that Brady “looked like a cancer patient with really good hair.”“But his problems were clearly impacting his physical well-being,” Arians said, noting that Brady “prides himself on his physical condition.” He described the change as “jarring” and said Brady “just seemed miserable, not even close to the Tom we all loved. He was so stressed.”
What reason did Gisele Bündchen reportedly give for ending the marriage?
Anderson’s book offers an unusual account of the final breakdown. According to the reported account, Bündchen’s interest in astrology played a role in how she viewed the relationship.“Then one day, Gisele, who is really into astrology, basically looked into the stars and told Tom, ‘We’re not compatible.’ And just like that, she was done,” the source alleges in the book.The same passage raises other possible reasons, including years of disagreements over Brady’s football career and whether he had made family a sufficient priority.
Did Tom Brady respond after Gisele had her son?
Bündchen welcomed a son with Joaquim Valente in February 2025. Anderson writes that Brady posted an Instagram photo from UCLA’s practice facility a little more than a month later.Under the image, Brady wrote, “True Love” — a phrase Bündchen had repeatedly used when describing his relationship with football.Anderson says one friend viewed the post as “the softest middle finger” ever given to an ex-wife.
Was Brady hurt by Bündchen’s pregnancy?
The book also claims Brady was “stung” by the timing of Bündchen’s pregnancy.“According to a friend of Brady’s, he was absolutely ‘stung’ that she had become pregnant roughly two years after their divorce.”Bündchen and Valente later married in a private ceremony on Dec. 3, 2025. Their son’s first name has not been publicly revealed, although PEOPLE reported that his middle name is River.
Why did Brady post another message after the birth?
Less than 24 hours after Bündchen gave birth, Brady shared another post on Instagram featuring a quote about love, friendship and finding beauty in others.“I really think the secret to being loved is to love. And the secret to being interesting is to be interested. And the secret to have others find beauty in you is to find beauty in others. And the secret to having a friend is being a friend.”Anderson writes that people close to Brady interpreted the post as more than a random message. “More than a few people with close ties to Brady believed they knew exactly what this was: a coded commentary on how he felt at the end of the marriage,” he writes.The accounts add new context to a divorce that was publicly settled in 2022 but, according to Anderson’s reporting, remained emotionally complicated for both sides.
