Tom Brady shared a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson to his Instagram Story on Thursday (Mar. 23) morning, a day after Vanity Fair published a lengthy interview with his ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen, where she discussed how their split wasn’t “so black and white” as some might think. “What is success?” began the Emerson quote. “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends.”
From there, Emerson equates success to the appreciation of beauty and “to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!” Tom, 45, added three red heart emojis to the story.
It was unclear what prompted Brady to share this quote. It came a day after Vanity Fair shared an in-depth interview with Gisele, 42, where she addressed the rumors of their divorce, including that she “would give up my dream” because Tom wanted to play one more season of football. “Wow, people really made it about that,” she said. “What’s been said is one piece of a much bigger puzzle… It’s not so black and white.”
Gisele credited the breakup as just two people who found themselves drifting apart after a 13-year marriage. “Sometimes you grow together; sometimes you grow apart,” she told Vanity Fair. “When I was 26 years old, and he was 29 years old, we met, we wanted a family, we wanted things together. As time goes by, we realize that we just wanted different things, and now we have a choice to make. That doesn’t mean you don’t love the person. It just means that in order for you to be authentic and truly live the life that you want to live, you have to have somebody who can meet you in the middle, right? It’s a dance. It’s a balance.”
Gisele also downplayed the rumors that she was dating jiujitsu instructor Joaquim Valente and real estate mogul Jeffrey Soffer. “I think, at this point, unfortunately, because I’m divorced, I’m sure that they’re going to try to attach me to anything,” she said. While Gisele praised Joaquim’s ” energy ” when instructing her and her kids — Benjamin, 13, and Vivian, 10 – in martial arts, she said she had “zero relationship” with Jeffrey.
