Tom Brady Biographer Speculates How QB’s Marriage to Gisele Bündchen Fell Apart (Exclusive)

Natasha DyeThu, October 8, 2026 at 8:15 PM UTC

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Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen at the 2018 Met GalaCredit: Matt Winkelmeyer/MG18/Getty -

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen’s marriage fell apart because the former quarterback “was gone” and away from their children, speculates Lars Anderson, the author of Brady’s new biography

“There was a lot that went into it,” Anderson tells PEOPLE of the couple’s divorce after 13 years

Anderson says the former couple didn’t have much “in common”

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen’s marriage fell apart because he “was gone,” says Lars Anderson, the author of Brady: An American Story and the Price of Greatness.

“There was a lot that went into it,” says Anderson, who previously co-authored The Quarterback Whisperer: How to Build an Elite NFL Quarterback with former Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians before publishing A Season in the Sun: The Inside Story of Bruce Arians, Tom Brady, and the Making of a Champion in 2021.

“She sacrificed a lot for him and there was never an equal balance,” speculates Anderson. “It was the fact that he was gone, that he was the absent father,” he continues. “And it was football that caused that.”

Brady and Bündchen confirmed their divorce in October 2022 after 13 years of marriage. The Brazilian supermodel, who co-parents son Benjamin, 16, and daughter Vivian, 13, with the legendary NFL quarterback, has stated their breakup wasn’t the result of an ultimatum.

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen at Super Bowl LV in 2021Credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty

In her 2023 Vanity Fair cover story, Bündchen, 46, called rumors that Brady, 49, was asked to choose between his family and career “very hurtful” and “the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“You give everything you got to achieve your dream… You give a hundred percent of yourself, and it’s heartbreaking when it doesn’t end up the way you hoped for, and worked for, but you can only do your part,” says the supermodel, who welcomed a baby with her new husband, Joaquim Valente, in February 2025.

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Anderson tells PEOPLE he believes the Brady and Bündchen had other issues. “If you drill down a little deeper...other than being famous, what did they really have in common?” he asks.

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The author notes that Bündchen is well-traveled and speaks six languages. “[Bündchen] knows more about fashion than anyone, and just has a great sense in her diet. She changed him in so many ways,” he says.

Tom Brady and Gisele Bünchen at the 2019 Hollywood for Science Gala on February 21, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California.Credit: Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images

Anderson also revisited big moments for the now-former couple, including when Bündchen walked the runway during the Opening Ceremony for the 2016 Rio Olympics. The author wonders, “Why didn’t [Brady] go there to support her?”

Anderson — who reveals in Brady that the quarterback missed 11 days of training camp in 2022 as a last-ditch effort to save his marriage — explains, “I know it’s a long-ass flight and it was in the middle of training camp, but man, you’re Tom Brady. So yeah, I mean, again, I didn’t want to get into this, but it’s like you have to explain it in order for it to really work in the book and for it to reveal a window into Tom and what made him so great.”

Following the Sept. 29 release of Anderson’s book, a source told PEOPLE Bündchen is “not bitter” over their divorce and feels “grateful” for the time she spent with him. “She always thought she would be married to Tom for the rest of her life,” the source shares. “The divorce was very upsetting, and she struggled to understand it at the time, but she’s not bitter.”

The insider added, “She’s very spiritual and looking back, she feels the universe had another plan for her.”

‘Brady: An American Story and the Price of Greatness’Credit: Celadon Books

Bündchen only has well wishes for Brady, telling Vanity Fair, “Listen, I have always cheered for [Tom], and I would continue forever… If there’s one person I want to be the happiest in the world, it’s him, believe me. I want him to achieve and to conquer. I want all his dreams to come true. That’s what I want, really, from the bottom of my heart.”

Brady retired from the NFL in February 2023 after 23 seasons and seven Super Bowl wins. He’s currently part of Fox’s lead NFL broadcast team with Kevin Burkhardt.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”