This has been a big year of transition for former NFL quarterback Tom Brady. His divorce from Gisele Bündchen after 13 years of marriage came just a few months before he announced his retirement from football after 23 seasons. The prospect of new jobs and new relationships definitely exist for the legendary quarterback, but the former couple’s two children — 13-year-old Benjamin and 10-year-old Vivan — remain their top priority. In fact, when it comes to co-parenting, it seems like Brady thinks he and his ex-wife are killing it.
Rumors of Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen’s split circulated for months before news of their divorce was confirmed, but it was clear at the time that they remained focused on the well-being of their kids. Parenting isn’t something he and his ex take lightly, Brady told ET, and he thinks they’re doing an “amazing job” with Benjamin and Vivian. He said:
I think for me, when you decide to have children, that's a big undertaking, and I don't think you take it lightly. And I think these kids that come up under your roof, you want to provide them with values, so that when they move forward in their life, they have a real solid base and foundation. And I think myself and their mom have done an amazing job of providing that, and I think that we're just gonna keep doing it.
Co-parenting is nothing new for Tom Brady. Just a couple of months into his relationship with Gisele Bündchen, they found out his ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan was pregnant. It’s likely that the former Tampa Bay Buc was able to draw on his experience of co-parenting Jack, now 15, after his split from Bündchen, but he also admitted that he’s still learning as he goes. Brady continued:
We're never a finished product. The kids aren't finished products. At the end of the day, we're learning along with them. And all you can do is the best you can do with the opportunities that you have, and the challenges you have, and we all have unique challenges to our life that we deal with.
Even though he’s familiar with the concept of sharing a child with an ex, there are no doubt new challenges that arise with his current situation, and it sounds like the seven-time Super Bowl champion is doing his best, even as he acknowledged that “we're all gonna have adversities in life.”
Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen reportedly had been living apart for months ahead of their divorce being finalized, giving Benjamin and Vivian time to adjust. Brady was seen out with the little ones the weekend news broke of the split, and sources reported that he always had fun activities planned for when they were with him.
The former NFL quarterback had to navigate some new ground last Christmas, as he was not only experiencing the holidays for the first time as a divorced dad, but it was also the first time he had a football game scheduled for December 25. At the time he opened up about learning to deal with Christmas Eve in a hotel room and delaying the celebration with his kids until the 26th.
I’m sure there was nothing easy about Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen’s divorce, but it sounds like their children remain the most important factor, and I love seeing the two of them on the same page in that respect.