New book blows lid off Tom Brady’s divorce. What was the final straw?

Entertainment admin September 29, 2026 0 Comments

New book blows lid off Tom Brady’s divorce. What was the final straw?

Don’t think enough ink has been spilled about Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen’s divorce?

There’s more.

An upcoming book by Sports Illustrated journalist Lars Anderson, “Brady: An American Story and the Price of Greatness,” shines a spotlight on the days leading up to the high profile couple’s split.

It’s been long rumored that Bundchen filed for the D word because she was fed up with Brady devoting himself to his career. Now, the book basically confirms the GOAT’s unretirement was the nail in the coffin. Their divorce was finalized in October 2022 in Glades County, Florida, just as the exes were putting the finishing touches on a megamansion in Indian Creek Village, aka Billionaire Bunker. The football legend now resides there as a bachelor with his famous co-parent nearby with her new husband Joaquim Valente and their baby son.

Recap: Brady first announced his initial retirement Feb. 1, 2022, after 22 seasons with the NFL. Brady played with the Patriots from 2000 to 2019 before signing on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. Mere weeks later, on March 13, he shocked fans by taking to then Twitter saying he would return to the Bucs.

His statement expressed he wasn’t ready to sit in the stands yet, and that his place was still “on the field.”

“I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family,” wrote Brady, who included a picture of Bundchen with their two kids — son Benjamin and daughter Vivian — plus his son Jack from his relationship with “Sex and the City” actress Bridget Moynahan.

“They make it all possible,” the California native concluded. “I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business.”

But the book confirms Bunchen didn’t actually want to “make it all possible,” and at least her business with football was finished. Unknown to most casual observers, by the time Brady unretired, their 13-year marriage was hanging by a thread, Anderson writes.

In excerpts published Friday by The Daily Mail, you can see Brady did make a last-minute attempt to salvage their relationship.

Just when the team’s training camp started, Anderson recounts that Brady asked for a leave of absence to go on a romantic Bahamas getaway with his wife.

“I’ve got to take care of some personal things,” Brady told coach Clyde Christensen, according to the upcoming biography, and he was excused.

Anderson also writes that Bundchen did her part to try to salvage the union. Years earlier, as far back as 2018, the former Victoria’s Secret Angel expressed her misgivings and tried to get him to be more of a partner.

Anderson claims Bundchen gave Brady a handwritten letter (which, in retrospect, doubled as a warning) soon after the Patriots fell to the Philadelphia Eagles at the Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis.

“She needed him to be present when he was at home, not responding to text messages on his constantly buzzing cell phone or replaying a game in his mind,” the DM’s excerpt says. “She needed more help with the kids. She needed the chance to sleep in just a few days a week. She needed more time for her own career.”

The veteran fashionista was also reportedly fed up with putting her own dreams on the back burner, as per an insider.

“People need to understand that Gisele was a bigger international star than Tom,” a former Brady teammate told the author. “She was getting tired of living on Tom’s schedule and being somewhat in his shadow during football season. She has a lot of pride, too. And, I mean, how many times did you see Tom supporting her career? There clearly were imbalances there.”

The book officially comes out on Tuesday.

This story was originally published September 28, 2026 at 2:13 PM.