Gisele Bündchen implied that prioritizing Tom Brady for years took a personal toll: “When you love someone, you don’t put them in jail”

In her March 2023 interview with Vanity Fair, supermodel Gisele Bündchen opened up about her 13-year marriage to former NFL quarterback Tom Brady, how their lives evolved, and what she discovered in the space that followed. While details of their split had played out in headlines, Bündchen offered fresh context and a more nuanced perspective. Gisele Bündchen admitted that the marriage was “like a death and a rebirth,” and described her own shift from supporting a partner’s career to rediscovering her personal dreams. Her reflections reveal not just a high-profile breakup, but a woman reclaiming her voice and defining success on her own terms...When Gisele Bündchen first met Tom Brady at age 26, she said she was, “so ready” for family and partnership. Traditionally one of the world’s highest-earning models, Bündchen gradually scaled back her runway work after 2015 to support the family life they were building..Gisele Bündchen describes relocating to Tampa without ever having lived there before, “When we moved to Tampa, I actually had never been there before. I just arrived and that was my life.” Yet despite her enormous success, much of the public narrative painted her as “against football” or overshadowed by Brady’s career, a portrayal she calls “very hurtful” and “the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.” Gisele Bündchen underscores that marriage didn’t unravel overnight. “That takes years to happen.” As she puts it, “Sometimes you grow together; sometimes you grow apart … When you love someone, you don’t put them in a jail and say, ‘You have to live this life.’ You set them free to be who they are..”Gisele Bündchen's message: supporting someone doesn’t mean losing yourself, and that truth became clearer to her as her kids grew and her dreams quietly changed..Today, Gisele Bündchen speaks of her next act in Costa Rica, building a home, raising her children, and exploring wellness and nature far from red carpets. She asserts, “I have my own dreams..”While Tom Brady continued his historic career, Bündchen’s focus shifted inward. She embraced spiritual practices, daily rituals, and the idea that success is not just professional acclaim but authenticity and fulfillment. She says the breakup felt like both a loss and a liberation, “I believed in fairy tales when I was a kid. I think it’s beautiful to believe in that.”..Gisele Bündchen's reflection on Brady is remarkably gracious. “Listen, I have always cheered for him, and I would continue forever … If there’s one person I want to be the happiest in the world, it’s him.” In doing so, Gisele Bündchen rejects reductive headlines and stereotypes, choosing instead to present a fuller picture of love, change and self-discovery. As she said, “What’s been said is one piece of a much bigger puzzle. It’s not so black and white.” In the end, this isn’t a story solely of one of fashion’s biggest icons, Gisele Bündchen stepping aside. It’s the story of a woman stepping forward, redefining when a chapter ends, a new one begins..Gisele Bündchen is back on the red carpet. The Brazilian supermodel made a rare event appearance at the Fashion Trust Arabia 2025 Awards Ceremony in Doha, Qatar, hosted over the weekend. Also Read: Gisele Bündchen’s post divorce evolution raises question: did Tom Brady underestimate what letting her go would cost him?