Tom Brady admits Gisele Bündchen divorce made his last NFL year difficult

Tom Brady has opened up about how his divorce from Gisele Bündchen weighed heavily on the final stretch of his NFL career.

During his recent interview on MLFootball, the 48-year-old former quarterback reflected on the personal challenges he faced during his last season in the league.

Tom Brady admitted that the end of his 13-year marriage to Bündchen, finalized in October 2022, took a significant emotional toll.

“My last season was tough. I was going through, I had a lot of, you know, a personal family issue. And it was a challenge and it was very … it just took a lot out of me in terms of, you know, my ability to play.” Brady – who retired from football for the first time in February of 2022 – said.

The athlete returned to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for one more season. He officially stepped away from the NFL in 2023 after a 23-year career, explaining that family was always central to his decision-making.

“I had 23 years of [football] so I didn’t think I was missing anything, retiring. I felt like I always had a goal — 45. I was 45 years old, I wanted to spend time with my kids, I felt like, okay, now it’s time for me to be at all my kids’ games. They’ve been to enough of their dad’s games,” he added.

Despite the emotional strain, Brady said he remained committed to his team until the very end.  Tom Brady shares two children, Benjamin and Vivian with Bündchen. He is also father to son Jack whom he shares with ex-partner Bridget Moynahan.