Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen (Image via Getty Images)
The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback asked to step away from training camp for 11 days during the summer of 2022, according to sports journalist Lars Anderson’s new book. 29. The account offers a new look at a difficult period in Brady’s life, just months before the couple publicly confirmed their split.
Tom Brady reportedly made one last effort to save his marriage to Gisele Bündchen before their relationship ended in divorce. The goal was deeply personal: to spend time with Bündchen and try to repair their marriage away from the spotlight. Brady was preparing for his 23rd NFL season when he reportedly asked the Buccaneers for an extended break from camp. Anderson details the episode in Brady: An American Story and the Price of Greatness , which is scheduled for release on Sept.
Brady and Bündchen ultimately confirmed their divorce in October 2022 after 13 years of marriage. He retired from the NFL for good in February 2023 and later moved into broadcasting, while Bündchen has since remarried and welcomed another child.
Brady told quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen, “‘I’ve got to take care of some personal things,’ Brady told [quarterbacks coach Clyde] Christensen before leaving training camp, according to an excerpt shared with PEOPLE. “‘Tom didn’t know what the heck was going on,’ ” said a Bucs assistant coach to Anderson. “‘And we didn’t know if he was ever coming back or not.’ ” Christensen also described Brady as “an empty shell of who he was when he got back,” according to the book. In a statement at the time, Brady said they reached the decision “amicably and with gratitude for the time we spent together.
Upon seeing his quarterback’s lifeless stare — a numb, disengaged expression — Christensen speculated that Brady may have been experiencing a form of shock. Something had blindsided him — something very bad and something that had completely devitalized the forty-five-year-old man. The former couple continue to co-parent their children, Benjamin and Vivian. Brady also has a son, Jack, with Bridget Moynahan.