At age 44, Tom Brady has decided to retire from the NFL. The legendary quarterback will sooner or later be inducted into the Hall of Fame, after winning 7 Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Besides having a career that no one can match, Brady is a family man, having three children from two relationships. Since 2009, he’s been married to Gisele Bündchen, but even though they divorced a long time ago, Brady also has contact with his ex Bridget Moynahan. The couple shares son John “Jack” Edward Thomas – but even though the couple isn’t together anymore, both Bridget and Tom are trying their best to keep the family peace.
Having a new person coming into one’s life can be very tough. And it turns out that Bridget Moynahan has plenty to say about her ex-boyfriend’s marriage to Gisele Bündchen.
Tom Brady is looked upon as one of the greatest players in NFL history. But the fact remains that he hasn’t always been a massive star, not even in his own family.
Tom Brady
So what made him the best? Well, plenty of training and support from his family are two reasons. But in the middle of his career, he went through a divorce, meeting a new sweetheart and having a child with his ex at the same time.
One might think that would take all the focus away from his job, which entails being one of the best quarterbacks ever.
But the fact is that the Brady family, including his ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan and current wife Gisele Bündchen, have all done their best to get along. From the looks of it, they’ve succeeded.
On Aug 3, 1977, Tom Brady was born in San Mateo, California. He grew up in a family of sports fanatics, though his sister was regarded as the biggest star.
“The Brady Bunch,” as they were called, showed great prowess in sports. Tom’s three older sisters – Nancy, Maureen, and Julie – were the original stars. They excelled in different sports, getting the spotlight while in high school — and rightfully so.
Brady started off playing baseball and basketball, and it wasn’t until age 14 that he became interested in football. He became a quarterback at Junipero Serra High School but sat on the bench.
Brady didn’t end up playing much at all.
Early life & career
He and teammate John Kirby, who also sat on the bench, resolved to make the starting lineup in their sophomore year. So they worked out on their own for three days a week – on top of regular practice – and Brady showed what he was all about the following year.
In his first game, he threw the game-winning touchdown.
“He’s done hundreds of those [comebacks] in his career, but that was the first one he really had,” Kirby said. “His very first game. We were losing, and we marched all the way down the field in a minute and 10 seconds. He threw me a TD pass with 30 seconds left.”
Tom Brady went from being 0-8 as a freshman – while sitting on the bench – to leading his team to the league’s championship game as a sophomore. They lost the championship, but everyone now knew that Tom had a bright future in the sport.
Parents Tom Sr. and Galynn knew their son had talent. However, they wanted to ensure that he was going to play football at a good university where he would get himself an excellent education at the same time.
In the end, Brady committed to the University of Michigan. However, in his senior year, he shared the first quarterback role with another player. It wasn’t the best preparation before the NFL draft.
Brady was eventually drafted in the sixth round by the New England Patriots in 2000. Looking back, the Patriots probably got the best bargain in NFL history.
Tom Brady’s NFL records
He might not have been the biggest star on every team he’s ever played, but Brady always aimed to be the best, even though he often feared that he wasn’t good enough.
“Both personally and professionally, I have faced challenges and sought out people who had better professional insights where I could use their experiences to learn from,” Tom Brady told Forbes in July 2020.
“In my young career, I doubted myself a lot. When I saw things that weren’t going my way, I thought I was the victim of circumstance. But when I changed, shifted my view and my mind to say, ‘I am not a victim, why don’t I empower myself.’ I could grow in ways I was struggling. Through working with psychologists and others, I learned you have to face the challenges and look at them as opportunities for growth. It was a lot of work, but it really paid off in my life.”
Tom Brady re-wrote NFL history in his 20 years with the New England Patriots. He won six Super Bowls in nine championship appearances, breaking several records in the process. He also leads the all-time leaderboard for passing touchdowns, regular-season wins by a starting quarterback, playoff wins, and Super Bowl MVPs.
Brady left the patriots in 2019 and instead became the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It didn’t take long before Tom Brady had made his mark in the southern state, as the team won the Super Bowl in 2020, marking the quarterback’s seventh Super Bowl win.
Relationship with ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan
Tom Brady had already made history, but his seventh Super Bowl win marked several new records. He became the first quarterback to win a Super Bowl as the starting quarterback of an AFC team and NFC team. Also, he earned his fifth Super Bowl MVP trophy, which is also an NFL record. For the game, Brady also became the oldest quarterback in Super Bowl history to start, play, win, and receive the MVP award.
Besides playing the game, attracting fans worldwide, and rising to fame, Brady lives a quiet life with his wife, Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen, and their children.
Tom Brady had a serious relationship once before and found out he was having his first child with ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan while dating Bündchen.
Tom Brady met Bridget Moynahan in 2004. The footballer’s career was on the rise, but Bridget also was very successful in her own right. Appearing in Coyote Ugly and Sex & The City, Moynahan was an upcoming actress who also got her big breakthrough around this time, starring in I Robot (2004) alongside Will Smith.
Brady and Moynahan dated from 2004 to 2006. The couple broke up, though, and later the same year, Brady started dating Gisele Bündchen.
The couple had been dating for months when Brady found out that Moynahan was pregnant with his child.
“Traumatic time of being heartbroken”
“Certainly, a lot of people make sacrifices for their family, and I’m dealing with a certain situation, a very joyous, happy situation,” Brady said at the time. “And some people have dealt with death in the past, and that’s incredibly difficult.”
Tom Brady had started dating Gisele and had company every night. For Bridget, however, the situation was different.
They broke up, and she found out she was pregnant in a matter of weeks. And at the time, it was tough, especially for Bridget.
“Going through that traumatic time of being heartbroken and then being pregnant turned my whole life upside down and inside out and just knocked the wind out of me,” Moynahan said in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar in 2008.
“But I got so much out of that. It’s golden, and it’s tough, and it was f***ked up. But now I have a child, and it’s the best thing in the world.”
Bridget got great support from her family members, friends, co-star and friend Will Smith, and Tom Brady. They decided to raise the kid in the most loving way they could. It turned out to be a childhood full of love and two sets of parents.
For Brady’s then-new girlfriend Gisele Bündchen, it was a shock in the beginning. In her book Lessons, she wrote that it was uncomfortable.
Tom Brady & Bridget Moynahan’s son Jack
“Two months into our relationship, Tom told me that his ex-girlfriend was pregnant,” Bündchen wrote.
“The very next day, the news was everywhere, and I felt my world had been turned upside down. Needless to say, that wasn’t an easy time. But it was a time that brought about so much growth. Jack, my bonus child, has been a huge gift and blessing in my life.”
Jack Edward Moynahan was born in 2007. It was tough for Gisele initially, but soon they all figured things out. In the end, the most important thing is love and respect, and Gisele, Tom, and Bridget found a way to make it work.
Their son Jack is now 14 years of age, and today Moynahan says that their son has benefited from having two sets of parents. She’s now married to businessman Andrew Frankel.
“Tom and I made a decision to raise a child together, and we both found partners that not only supported us in raising that child but also loved our child as if he was their own,” Moynahan wrote in her book Our Shoes, Our Selves.
“I don’t think you can ask for more than that. My son is surrounded by love.”
Jack has grown up with two parents and gotten really close to his stepmom, Gisele Bündchen.
What Bridget Moynahan thinks of Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen
Bridget Moynahan lives with her husband Andrew, son Jack and Andrew’s three children from a previous relationship. She rose to national fame on the show Blue Bloods, in which she’s played the lead role. The show has aired for ten years and produced over 200 episodes.
Going through a divorce when you have children is challenging. And getting the family chemistry back for the children’s sake when another partner enters – as Gisele did – can be very difficult. However, in the case of Bridget, Tom and Gisele, that wasn’t a problem at all.
Besides the fact that both Tom and Brigett Moynahan now have new partners, they decided to make things work. And it seems like they are getting along.
“I never made a comment about Gisele or Tom publicly,” Bridget Moynahan said in 2011. “I have a relationship with these people on a daily basis. I’m raising a child, and it’s public. My son has two loving parents and an extended family, whether it’s cousins or stepmothers or boyfriends. My son is surrounded by love.”
In 2014, Bridgett and Gisele were seen sharing a friendly hug when she dropped off her son Jack with his father Tom and stepmom.
Tom Brady retiring from the NFL
“Nothing has changed as far as Bridget and Tom co-parenting. It’s still going well,” an insider tells US Magazine. “Bridget’s someone who is friendly and easygoing and is known to be cordial with Tom and supportive of his career.”
After more than 20 years in the NFL, Tom Brady decided to retire. In January, he released a statement saying he was done, with the whole world of football honoring him. As he ends his career, Brady has a net worth of around $250 million.
“I have always believed the sport of football is an ‘all-in’ proposition — if a 100% competitive commitment isn’t there, you won’t succeed, and success is what I love so much about our game,” Brady wrote in his statement on Instagram.
“There is a physical, mental, and emotional challenge every single day that has allowed me to maximize my highest potential. And I have tried my very best these past 22 years. There are no shortcuts to success on the field or in life.”
The entire football world praised Brady for his long and successful career, with his family also joining in, including ex Bridget Moynahan, who paid tribute.
Congratulated by Gisele and Bridget
“So proud of Tom Brady,” she wrote in an Instagram post alongside a picture of him in his Tampa Bay Buccaneers uniform. “Yesterday and today, and I know you will do great things tomorrow. Looking forward to the next steps.”
Gisele Bündchen also took to Instagram to congratulate her husband on an astonishing career.
“So many memories! When I met you over 15 years ago, I didn’t know the first thing about football. But cheering for you and seeing you do what you love most made me learn about this wonderful game to the point that I seriously believed I knew more than the referees!” she wrote. “As a family, we always prayed for you, celebrated and supported you in every game, cheered every win, and suffered with every loss.”
Even though different family combinations might not always work, Bridget, Tom, and Gisele have really made it. We hope that their relationship continues to be as good as it is today, and wish them all the best in the future.
Please, share this article on Facebook with friends and family to honor Tom Brady!
