NFL legend Tom Brady has emphatically distanced himself from the alleged breakdown of his ex-wife Gisele Bundchen’s relationship with her jiu-jitsu instructor boyfriend, Joaquim Valente.
Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady announced they were divorcing in 2022 after 13 years of marriage. At the time, the former couple confirmed their split on social media, saying they had “gratitude” for their time together and that the decision had been made “amicably.”
Recently, Bündchen reflected on the the break up with Brady and decided to drop a heartfelt message for the father and ex husband. Alongside a series of photos featuring her their once happy union, Bündchen penned a heartfelt note in the Instagram caption.
“It’s still hard to say ‘Brady’ without getting emotional,” she began. “There is not a day that goes by that I don’t miss my Brady.”
Tom Brady is refusing to take the blame for his ex-wife Gisele Bundchen’s split from Joaquim Valente – after it was claimed his blistering Netflix roast was a major factor in her break-up from the jiu jitsu instructor.
It was reported earlier this week that the Vogue model, 43, and Valente, 34, had called it quits as he was struggling with their romance becoming so public in the wake of the one-off show, which included a crude reference to the Brazilian fitness trainer.
But insiders close to Brady have said linking him to the break up is a ‘total cop out’ and insist he would never try to ‘sabotage’ her love life.
‘Tom feels like he should take no blame for Gisele’s relationship successes or struggles,’ a source told DailyMail.com exclusively. ‘He is away from it and isn’t trying to sabotage anything.
‘He needs to live his life and coparent and get to a place with Gisele that is healthy and happy. ‘It serves him nothing to try to harm or disrupt any type of relationship she ever has. He doesn’t feel he should be blamed at all.
‘At the end of the day, everyone is an adult and you’re going to have to deal with relationships, whether they go good or bad by taking it day by day.
‘You can’t blame others for what might not be working, it is a cop-out to put the blame on Tom.’ The insider claimed Bundchen had been ‘stressed’ long before the roast, with the pair fighting to make their romance work as Valente struggled with life in the spotlight.
‘Gisele has been stressed for a long time trying to make it work with Joaquim, and as time has gone by he has struggled with the attention on them,’ the source continued.
‘He expected some – but people talking about how he ruined a marriage and everything else that was mentioned on the Roast has profoundly affected him. ‘There is a strain on the relationship. If they want it back, it will take some time to make work again.’
nTouch Weekly reported on Wednesday that Bundchen was single again after 12 months of dating. ‘The spotlight was too much for him,’ a source told the publication. ‘Joaquim’s a regular guy. He’s not used to all the attention he was getting.
‘Joaquim became part of the joke. People actually started asking him if he was the reason for their divorce. He hated that’. Tom Brady’s kids pay emotional tribute to their dad ahead of his Hall of Fame induction ceremony
And Bundchen allegedly believes if her ex-husband had not done the roast, her romance would have been on firmer ground. ‘She blames the break on Tom,’ added the source ‘By agreeing to do the roast, he basically put a target on Joaquim’s back.’
Rumors of a relationship started to swirl when Valente was pictured holidaying with Bundchen and her children in Costa Rica just two weeks after her divorce from Brady.
They also enjoyed trips to their native Brazil together, and in February they were pictured passionately kissing in footage obtained by DailyMail.com. Bundchen was said to have been ‘deeply disappointed’ by the quips made at her expense during Brady’s roast – which featured several shock jokes about her and also Valente.
‘How much would it suck for Tom… omg, just knowing your ex-wife’s new boyfriend could beat your a** while eating hers,’ comedian Nikki Glaser joked during the live broadcast. Her other jabs included: ‘Tom, the only thing dumber than you saying “yes” to this roast was when you said, “Hey babe, you should try jiu-jitsu.”
‘You have seven rings… well, eight now that Gisele gave hers back.’
At the time, a source told People that Bundchen had been left fuming at the special, saying she ‘was deeply disappointed by the disrespectful portrayal of her family on Sunday evening’s roast show’.
‘As always, [Gisele’s] priority is to support her children who were affected by the irresponsible content that was broadcasted,’ the insider added.
Last month Tom said he regretted agreeing to his Netflix roast as his children were ‘affected’ by the gags. The retired sporting legend was targeted with a string of close-to-the-knuckle jokes during the live special on 5 May at the Kia Forum, California, about his divorce from Gisele.
Tom told The Pivot podcast: ‘I loved when the jokes were about me. thought they were so fun. ‘I didn’t like the way that affected my kids.’ The seven-time Super Bowl champion added he didn’t think through his decision to take part and said he learned a ‘good lesson.’
‘You don’t see the full picture all of the time,’ he said. ‘It’s a good lesson for me as a parent. I’m going to be a better parent as I go forward because of it. ‘At the same time, I’m happy everyone who was there had a lot of fun.’
While he was regretful about the jibes at his children, he shrugged off his ex-wife’s ‘hurt’ and ‘upset’ over the portrayal of their marriage.
‘It just seems to Tom that Gisele will get angry with him for anything and everything and there is nothing he can do to change that,’ a source told DailyMail.com at the time.
‘He will continue to try to be in her good graces for the kids but he also has to stick up for himself and going through the Roast was something he wanted and needed to happen.
‘And he thinks that if it wasn’t this, something else would have upset her, so there isn’t much he can do to fix that.’ The former couple met in 2006 and went on to tie the knot at a ceremony held in Santa Monica in 2009.
Their son Benjamin, 14, was born that same year, and they later welcomed daughter Vivian, now 11, in 2012. The supermodel also served as a stepmother to Brady’s son John, 16, whom he shares with Bridget Moynahan.
News of Brady and Bundchen’s separation broke in September 2022, and their $733 million divorce was finalized the following month. Meanwhile, inside sources say that Tom Brady has proposed to ex-wife Gisele Bundchen with a $14 Million ring hours after split with her jiu-jitsu instructor boyfriend, Joaquim Valente
