Gisele Bündchen opened up about her true feelings about her much-publicized divorce from now-retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady in an interview that was published on Wednesday.
Bündchen, a Brazilian-born supermodel and mother to two children with the seven-time Super Bowl-winning football star, called the end of the 13-year marriage “the death of my dream.”
The 42-year-old told Vanity Fair her life’s dream was to marry and have a family.
After she met Brady, the two connected deeply, she said. Quickly into their relationship, however, he informed her his former girlfriend actress Bridget Moynahan, was pregnant with his child.
Brady’s son Jack was born in 2007 — after Bündchen said she mulled over ending the relationship.
Instead, the couple had a son and a daughter of their own, and the former model explained Jack became a “bonus child” to her.
Last year, before the NFL season and after Brady suddenly un-retired from football, rumblings of separation were everywhere.
Two months into the season last October, a divorce many people viewed as a rumor became finalized. Bündchen told Vanity Fair her life with Brady was everything she ever wanted.
“It’s like a death and a rebirth,” she said. She added that coming to terms with her divorce is like mourning “the death of my dream.”
“It’s tough because you imagine your life was going to be a certain way, and you did everything you could, you know?” she said as Vanity Fair reported she came emotional.
After she gathered herself, she said, “I believed in fairy tales when I was a kid. I think it’s beautiful to believe in that. I mean, I’m so grateful I did.”
She said she made every attempt to make the marriage work.
“You give everything you got to achieve your dream,” Bündchen said. “You give a hundred percent of yourself, and it’s heartbreaking when it doesn’t end up the way you hoped for, and worked for, but you can only do your part.”
She also scoffed at the notion she was opposed to seeing her former husband play professional football well into his forties.
“I used to joke that I was going to be able to be the ref because I’ve watched so many games,” she said. “And I loved it.”
She said reports the divorce was initiated over Brady’s hesitancy to let go of the game were and are not true.
“It’s not so black and white,” she said of the complexity of the separation. The couple simply grew apart.
Brady has since retired again, presumably for good this time. Bündchen told Vanity Fair she will be his biggest fan, no matter what his next move is.
“Listen, I have always cheered for him, and I would continue forever,” she said. “I want him to achieve and to conquer. I want all his dreams to come true. That’s what I want, really, from the bottom of my heart.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.