![His Biggest Fan! Gisele Bundchen Supports Tom Brady Amid NFL Retirement](/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/His-Biggest-Fan-Gisele-Bundchen-Supports-Tom-Brady-Amid-NFL-Retirement.jpg?w=1000&quality=55&strip=all)
His biggest fan! Gisele Bündchen sent love to her husband, Tom Brady, after he formally announced his retirement from the NFL.
“What an incredible ride this has been!” Bündchen, 41, commented via Instagram on Tuesday, February 1. “You know that we are always here to support you my love. Looking forward to what the future holds. Te amo.”
The supermodel shared a lengthy congratulatory post of her own on Tuesday via social media, writing, “What a ride @tombrady! So many memories! When I met you over 15 years ago, I didn’t know the first thing about football. But cheering for you and seeing you do what you love most made me learn about this wonderful game to the point that I seriously believed I knew more than the referees!”
Bündchen gushed over her 44-year-old husband’s accomplishments, adding, “I’m so proud of you, and of everything you have had to overcome physically and emotionally over the years. I am in awe of your dedication, and of everything you have achieved. You love what you do, and you leave behind a legacy that is a beautiful example for future generations.”
She concluded: “I know how excited you are about the next chapter of your life. Watching you work so hard in your football career and seeing the dedication you are now putting into all your new endeavors is incredibly inspiring. There is nothing you can’t achieve. I have always been here for you, you know that, and I’m as excited as you are for what the future holds!”
After much speculation, Brady confirmed on Tuesday that he was retiring from his professional football career after 22 seasons. He wrote in a lengthy Instagram post that while the sport requires “a 100 percent competitive commitment,” he was “not going to make that competitive commitment anymore.”
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback continued: “I have loved my NFL career, and now it is time to focus my time and energy on other things that require my attention. I’ve done a lot of reflecting the past week and have asked myself difficult questions. And I am so proud of what we have achieved. My teammates, coaches, fellow competitors and fans deserve 100 percent of me, but right now, it’s best I leave the field of play to the next generation of dedicated and committed athletes.”
Brady went on to thank Bündchen for supporting his career. “To my wife, Gisele, and my children, Jack, Benny and Vivi. You are my inspiration. Our family is my greatest achievement,” he noted. “I always came off the field and home to the most loving and supportive wife who has done EVERYTHING for our family to allow me to focus on my career. Her selflessness allowed me to reach new heights professionally, and I am beyond words what you mean to me and our family. Te amo amor da minha vida.”
The athlete concluded his message by sharing that “what [his] days will look like will be a work in progress,” adding that he plans to “take it day by day.”
Bündchen has been by Brady’s side throughout much of his time in the NFL. They tied the knot in February 2009, going on to welcome son Benjamin in December 2009 and daughter Vivian in December 2012. The former New England Patriots quarterback is also the father of son Jack, 14, whom he shares with ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan.
The seven-time Super Bowl champ opened up in October 2021 about how the supermodel factored into his retirement timeline.
“It’s a very difficult issue to reconcile without just saying, ‘Hey, it’s time to retire,’” he said during an episode of his “Let’s Go” podcast. “And I think there’s, you know, we’re coming to the end here too, so I don’t want to miss any of the kids’ stuff.”
Brady then acknowledged that Bündchen missed out on career opportunities in an effort to support him. “I think my wife has, you know, held down the house for a long time now, and I think there’s things that she wants to accomplish,” he explained. “She hasn’t worked as much in the last 10, 12 years just raising our family and kind of committing to being in a life in Boston and then moving to Florida.”