A new biography about Tom Brady includes details about the end of his marriage to Gisele Bündchen. “Brady: An American Story and the Price of Greatness” was written by sports journalist Lars Anderson and released on Sept. 29, 2026.
The book draws on more than 350 interviews with people who knew Brady on and off the field. It includes accounts about the couple’s marriage and their 2022 divorce. Bündchen has previously said the reasons for their split were more complicated than reports that linked it primarily to Brady’s football career.
New biography examines Brady and Bündchen marriage
Anderson’s biography examines Brady’s life beyond his record-setting football career. Publisher Celadon Books says the author conducted more than 350 original interviews with people who knew Brady on and off the field. The book explores his childhood, career, family life, and retirement.
It also examines what Anderson presents as the personal cost of Brady’s intense commitment to football and his pursuit of success. The marriage receives considerable attention because it overlapped with some of Brady’s biggest professional achievements. Brady and Bündchen married in 2009 and remained together for 13 years before finalizing their divorce in October 2022.
They share a son, Benjamin, and a daughter, Vivian. Both described the divorce as difficult while emphasizing that their children would remain a priority as they moved forward separately.
Training camp absence reveals private marriage struggles
One of Anderson’s major claims concerns Brady’s absence from Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp in August 2022. Brady took an 11-day leave during preparations for the season. According to the biography, he traveled to the Bahamas while making an effort to repair his marriage.
The book presents the absence as an attempt to address personal problems before Brady and Bündchen publicly announced their divorce. Anderson’s reporting says Brady told quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen that he needed to handle personal matters. The biography also describes concern around Brady after he returned to the team.
Former Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians told Anderson that Brady had lost close to 20 pounds as his marriage unraveled. Those details are claims reported in Anderson’s biography rather than information Brady publicly confirmed at the time.
Book describes strain inside Brady marriage
Anderson’s biography describes problems in Brady and Bündchen’s marriage as developing over time. The book includes accounts linking some of their disagreements to Brady’s football career and family responsibilities. Those descriptions come from Anderson’s reporting and sources interviewed for the biography.
Bündchen said in 2022 that she wanted Brady to be more present with their children. She also said everyone ultimately has to make decisions that work for them. She later disputed reports that Brady’s return to football was the sole reason for their divorce.
In a 2023 interview, Bündchen called reports that she gave Brady an ultimatum over football “very hurtful.” She said marriages do not end overnight. She also explained that she and Brady eventually wanted different things as their lives changed.
Book includes an astrology claim
Anderson’s book includes a specific claim about the final period of the marriage. According to a source quoted in the biography, Bündchen was interested in astrology and concluded that she and Brady were not compatible. The source linked that conclusion to her decision to end the marriage.
The account comes from a source in Anderson’s biography rather than a public statement from Bündchen. Neither Brady nor Bündchen has publicly confirmed astrology as a reason for their divorce. The claim should therefore be attributed to the book and its source.
Bündchen has given a broader explanation for the end of the marriage. She has said that relationships change over time and rejected reports that Brady’s football career alone caused the divorce. She also disputed the claim that she forced him to choose between football and their marriage.
Brady social media posts spark fresh speculation
The biography interprets Brady’s social media posts after the divorce as possible messages directed at Bündchen. One came after Bündchen welcomed a child with Joaquim Valente in early 2025. Anderson’s book cites people close to Brady who interpreted his social media activity as reflecting emotions connected to his former marriage.
Brady did not publicly confirm that interpretation. In March 2025, Brady posted a photograph of himself throwing a football at sunset with the words “True Love.” Anderson’s book argues that the phrase carried added meaning because Bündchen had previously described football as Brady’s true love.
People close to Brady interpreted the post as a message directed toward his former wife, but Brady himself did not publicly say Bündchen was the intended audience.
Fun fact: Tom Brady was selected 199th overall by the New England Patriots in the 6th round of the 2000 NFL Draft, turning a low-expectation slide into a historic career.
Bündchen begins new chapter after Brady divorce
Bündchen later began a relationship with jiu-jitsu instructor Joaquim Valente. She previously described Valente and his brothers as friends who trained her and her children. In 2024, Bündchen said she was dating someone who had been her friend first.
She also denied accusations that she had been unfaithful to Brady during their marriage. Bündchen and Valente welcomed a son in early 2025 and married on Dec. 3, 2025, in Florida. Anderson’s biography claims Brady was hurt by how quickly his former wife appeared to move forward.
That characterization comes from people cited in the book rather than a public statement from Brady, who has not confirmed the private reaction attributed to him.
Public statements provide context about their divorce
When Brady and Bündchen announced their divorce on Oct. 28, 2022, both described the decision as amicable. Brady said they reached it after much consideration and acknowledged that ending a marriage was painful and difficult. Bündchen said they had grown apart and expressed gratitude for their time together.
Both emphasized their children, while Bündchen also asked for privacy as their family moved forward. Bündchen offered more detail several months later. She explained that relationships can change as people grow and begin wanting different things.
She also said she continued to support Brady and wanted him to achieve his goals. Her comments challenge simplified accounts that portray football as the single cause of the divorce and provide important context for the new claims in Anderson’s biography.
New book adds unconfirmed details about divorce
Anderson’s reporting offers new accounts from coaches, friends, and other people familiar with Brady. The biography connects his personal struggles in 2022 with the demands of his football career. Some details come from named sources such as former Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians, while other claims rely on unnamed people.
Representatives for Brady and Bündchen did not respond to People’s requests for comment about the book’s allegations. The biography adds new perspectives to a divorce that has generated years of public speculation. Bündchen has stressed that outsiders do not know everything that happens between 2 people in a relationship.
Anderson’s reporting provides additional accounts of the marriage and its end, but several personal claims remain allegations in the book rather than publicly confirmed details from Brady or Bündchen.
TL;DR
- Lars Anderson’s new biography examines the personal cost of Brady’s football career.
- The book says Brady tried to repair his marriage during an 11-day training camp absence in 2022.
- A source claims astrology influenced Bündchen’s decision, but she has not publicly confirmed that account.
- Anderson’s book interprets Brady’s social media activity as containing possible messages toward Bündchen.
- Bündchen has said the marriage ended after years of change and cannot be reduced to football alone.
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This article was made with AI assistance and human editing.
