Gisele Bündchen Says It’s Her ‘Turn’ to Work Amid Rumors of a Rift With Tom Brady

The tabloids have been following a reported rift between Gisele Bündchen, supermodel, and her husband, Tom Brady, big football guy. But here she is now, in her own words for the first time in a long time, gracing the cover of Elle’s October 2022 issue. She’s talking a bit about having it all in a way that sounds familiar: You can have it all—a relationship, a family, a career—but it might not happen all at once. And though it may seem like nobody wants to work anymore, Bündchen does. 

“I have a huge list of things that I have to do, that I want to do,” she tells Elle. “At 42, I feel more connected with my purpose.”

Gisele Bündchen declines to address the more recent and specific rumors, ones where anonymous sources are citing a rift between her and Brady due to various displays of separation. But the supermodel does agree with the writer that any portrayal of her being “desperate” for Brady to retire reads as sexist. “I think this is the system we’ve been living in,” she says. “That’s what society has accepted and what society hasn’t accepted.”

The way she puts it is more tempered, but she and the anon sources are ultimately saying similar things. “Obviously, I have my concerns,” she says of football generally. “This is a very violent sport, and I have my children and I would like him to be more present. I have definitely had those conversations with him over and over again. But ultimately, I feel that everybody has to make a decision that works for [them]. He needs to follow his joy too.”