Gisele Bündchen was photographed without her wedding ring in Miami, fueling rumors she and Tom Brady are headed for a split. The 42-year-old supermodel ditched her sparkler on Tuesday, the same day Yahoo Entertainment confirmed she hired a divorce lawyer. Brady has reportedly retained his own legal counsel as well.
In the images obtained by Page Six, Bündchen is seen heading to the gym with her and Brady’s two children: son Benjamin, 12, and daughter Vivian, 9. (She’s also stepmother to Jack, 15.) It’s important to note, the Brazilian model has been snapped various times during her 13-year marriage without the band — even when things aren’t as rocky. On the flip side, Bündchen knows she’s being hounded by paparazzi right now, so she very well could be sending a message. It’s the second time the former Victoria’s Secret Angel has been photographed without her wedding ring this week.
Insiders say Brady and Bündchen are living apart as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback is on the hunt for his eighth Super Bowl ring. Tension brewed after Brady un-retired earlier this year. In a rare interview, the model admitted she had “concerns” over her husband’s decision to return to the NFL.
This isn’t the first “rough patch” in Brady and Bündchen’s union. In 2020, the NFL star told Howard Stern he and his wife were on the rocks “a couple years ago.”
“She didn’t feel like I was doing my part for the family,” Brady explained on The Howard Stern Show. “She felt like I would play football all season and she would take care of the house, and then all the sudden when the season would end, I’d be like, ‘Great, let me get into all my other business activities. Let me get into my football training.’ And she’s sitting there going, ‘Well, when are you going to do things for the house? When are you going to take the kids to school and do that?'”
Bündchen wrote Brady a “heartfelt letter” saying she was unhappy. The athlete said he kept the letter and still reads it. The two attended marriage counseling and worked through their issues.
Although each star has lawyered up, an insider cautions to People it may not mean the relationship is over.
“Gisele has been talking to a divorce lawyer for awhile but to my knowledge has not filed anything and is still talking to Tom about their issues,” a source says, adding: “This is not something that just happened today.”
Celebrity divorce lawyer Christopher Melcher tells Yahoo that “consulting with lawyers does not necessarily mean” anything.
“They may just want to understand their rights. Or they may be contemplating a change in their financial arrangements, so they feel more comfortable moving forward as a couple,” Melcher, partner of Walzer Melcher & Yoda, adds.
MORE: Gisele Bündchen hires divorce lawyer
