Focus on Tom Brady’s personal life deepens: report claims QB and his wife Gisele Bundchen hired divorce lawyers

The coverage of Tom Brady’s personal life doesn’t let up. And it could get even more expansive from that point.

In a continuation of near-weekly updates focused on Brady’s marriage to supermodel Gisele Bundchen, the New York Post reported Tuesday that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback and his wife have hired divorce attorneys. (Yahoo Entertainment later confirmed the Bundchen report.) Citing multiple anonymous sources, the Post reported that the move to hire lawyers is aimed at sorting through the couple’s extensive financial assets and real estate holdings, which have been in existence since the two began marrying were accumulated in 2009. The Post and various other outlets had recently reported that Brady and his wife had been living in separate apartments in Florida since the summer, including during the landfall of Hurricane Ian last week. Bundchen has also been unusually absent from Brady’s home games that season.

Brady’s relationship became a bigger topic of esports discussion during the offseason, when the quarterback briefly retired and then reversed course and returned to the Buccaneers for the 2022 campaign, though a lucrative broadcasting job awaited him at Fox Sports. His training camp appeared to be on a normal path until he suddenly took an unprecedented 11-day vacation to attend to what the Buccaneers described as “personal matters.”

It was at this point that various tabloids began speculating about the state of Brady’s relationship with Bundchen and whether his breakup with the Buccaneers was an attempt to salvage their marriage. The Post was ahead of several of the reports, which has remained a notable oddity as it is owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who also owns Fox Sports and is expected to be the man to clip Brady’s send checks post-career.

After Brady’s absence from the Buccaneers in August – which was reportedly used to spend time with Bummel and their children – he returned and delivered a uniquely candid press conference after resuming training with the team.

The story goes on

“It’s all personal,” Brady told reporters upon his return to the team in late August. “Everyone deals with different situations. We all have truly unique challenges in our lives. I’m 45 years old man. There’s a lot of shit going on. You just have to understand life as best you can. It’s a continuous process.”

About two weeks later, Bummel opened up about the couple’s marriage and Brady’s return to the Buccaneers while sitting for an interview in the October issue of Elle magazine. Bundchen noted the occasional strain on her marriage from Brady’s decision to continue playing in the NFL into her mid-40s.

“Obviously I have my concerns — this is a very violent sport and I have my kids and I want it to be more present,” Bundchen said. “I definitely kept having those conversations with him. But ultimately , I believe everyone has to make a decision that works [them]. He must also follow his joy.”

The recent spate of reports certainly isn’t the first time Brady and Bundchen’s marriage has garnered significant and dedicated attention. Beyond the sport or NFL limelight, their status as an A-list power couple has provided both the high points and pitfalls of the celebrity as entertainment companies seemingly chronicled every move they made. This microscope also became a major subplot in Seth Wickersham’s recent book It’s Better To Be Feared: The New England Patriots Dynasty and the Pursuit of Greatness.

In this book, Wickersham chronicled Brady’s relentless pursuit of perfection in the NFL and the toll his marriage to Bummel had sometimes taken. Portions of Wickersham’s book also hinted at potential troubles as Brady attempted to grapple with his retirement from professional football and what would eventually fill the void left.

For his part, Brady has said on multiple occasions that he understands the trade-off that comes with a high-profile marriage and the media coverage that comes with it. He also addressed the fascination with reporters in September, as reports swirled that he and Bundchen had split.

“I think it’s just a part of our lives,” Brady said. “We’re in front of the cameras all day, so it’s a given that I’ve been dealing with for a long time. … I’m just dealing with it as best as I can.”