Tom Brady talks balancing personal life and football after Gisele Bundchen divorce
Tom Brady is breaking his silence after he and Gisele Bündchen announced they had finalized their divorce after 13 years of marriage.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback was asked about the split on the SiriusXM podcast "Let's Go! with Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray" on Tuesday.
"Obviously the good news is it's a very amicable situation and I'm really focused on two things: taking care of my family and certainly my children and, secondly, doing the best job I can to win football games," Brady said when asked if his personal life could spill over into his professional life on the football field.
"That's what professionals do -- you focus at work when it's time to work, and then when you come home you focus on the priorities that are at home," he continued. "All you can do is the best you could do. That's what I'll just continue to do as long as I'm working and as long as I'm being a dad."
Brady was also asked if it was hard to compartmentalize those two priorities in his life, with him noting again that he's a professional and that he's dealt with "a lot of challenging situations on and off the field" for his entire career.
"I think the interesting thing for a football player, or an athlete in general, is ... I always say we're not actors. Even though we're on TV, you know, that is our real self out there," he said. "We're trying to do our best."
"We all have our unique challenges in life. We're all humans. We do the best we could do," the seven-time Super Bowl champion said. "I have incredible parents that have always taught me the right way to do things. I want to be a great father to my children and always try to do things the right way as well. And to deal with things in your life that have challenges, you wanna deal with them in the best possible way."
Brady continued, "So I want to always be able to hold my head high on and off the field, and I'm gonna try to continue to do that for as long as I'm here."
Brady's Bucs have stumbled to a 3-5 record and are currently on a three-game losing streak. He has thrown just three touchdowns in those three games combined.
The NFL star and Bündchen, who married in 2009, confirmed on Friday they had finalized their divorce by each sharing separate statements to their respective social media pages.
In both their posts, Brady and Bündchen said they had "gratitude" for their time together and that the decision had been made "amicably."
They both said their priority was their children. Brady and Bündchen share two children together, 12-year-old Benjamin and 9-year-old Vivian. Brady also has a 15-year-old son, Jack, from his previous relationship with Bridget Moynahan.
Brady called the situation "painful and difficult," and said he and Bündchen "only wish the best for each other as we pursue whatever new chapters in our lives that are yet to be written."
Bündchen said, "The decision to end a marriage is never easy but we have grown apart and while it is, of course, difficult to go through something like this, I feel blessed for the time we had together and only wish the best for Tom always."
