Gisele Bündchen surprised many when the model announced she was expecting a baby with her then-boyfriend Joaquim Valente in 2024 — including her ex-husband, Tom Brady.
“According to a friend of Brady’s, he was absolutely ‘stung’ that she had become pregnant roughly two years after their divorce,” author Lars Anderson writes in Brady: An American Story and the Price of Greatness, out now.
Bündchen, 46, revealed she and Valente, 39, were expecting their first child together in October 2024, two years after she and the NFL quarterback, 49, finalized their divorce after 13 years of marriage.
The Victoria’s Secret Angel and Valente — who got married in December 2025 — welcomed a baby boy in February 2025, though they have kept his name private. Bündchen seemingly teased her bundle of joy’s moniker in January 2026 when she wore an 18K yellow gold necklace with the initials: J, B, V and A. (Brady and Bündchen share son Benjamin, 16, and daughter Vivian, 13. Brady also shares son Jack, 19, with his ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan.)
After Bündchen and Valente announced their pregnancy, Brady took to social media with a cryptic post. The seven-time Super Bowl champion shared lyrics from the song “Landslide” over a sunset photo.
The lyrics read, “Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love? / Can the child within my heart rise above? / Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?” Brady’s post was accompanied by three red heart emojis.
“More than a few people with close ties to Brady believed they knew exactly what this was: a coded commentary on how he felt at the end of the marriage,” Anderson wrote in his book.
Just over a month after Bündchen gave birth, Brady took another thinly-veiled shot at his ex-wife on social media.
Brady shared a photo of himself throwing a football at UCLA’s practice facility captioned “True Love,” described by Anderson as “the verbatim phrase Gisele had repeatedly used to describe Brady’s relationship with football.”
“To those who knew Brady well, there was nothing ambiguous about the post,” Anderson wrote. “One friend described it as ‘the softest middle finger’ ever given to an ex-wife.”
In an exclusive interview with Us, Brady biographer Anderson explained “you can’t tell his story without Gisele.”
“His diet comes from Gisele, the way he dresses comes from Gisele,” Anderson said. “You have to remember, she was a far more worldly person than Tom. She speaks six languages. Tom didn’t take the time to learn Portuguese, her native tongue.”
The author added, “She opened his world in ways that he never could have fathomed. I know a lot of his friends were like, ‘Oh s***. Tom is stepping into something he may not be ready for. He was already famous, obviously. But to become arguably the most famous married couple in the world is tough. It’s really tough.”
