Gisele Bündchen Opens Up About the Roles She and Tom Brady Play in Their Marriage

When it comes to taking the lead with their family, Gisele Bündchen is more than just behind the center playing quarterback. She's also calling the plays. And she's grateful to her husband, Tom Brady, for trusting her in that respect.

The 41-year-old Brazilian bombshell opened up to British Vogue about the roles she and the future Hall of Famer play in their marriage. In short, they complement each other well. But they also work hard at it, and over the years they've not only defined their roles, they've honed it.

"I don't think relationships just happen; it's never the fairy tale people want to believe it is," Bündchen tells the fashion magazine. "It takes work to be really in sync with someone, especially after you have kids. His focus is on his career, mine is mostly on the kids. And I'm grateful that he lets me take the reins when it comes to our family. He trusts my decisions."

One of the most recent decisions Bündchen made was to homeschool her kids after Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the height of the pandemic in March 2020. Benjamin, 12, and Vivian, 9, needed only a two-minute bike ride from the family residence for a homeschool environment set up by Bündchen. And not just that, it was Bündchen who created the curriculum with the help of her children's teacher. That curriculum includes cooking and gardening as well.

"When my husband decided he was going to play another year, I didn't want to put them in a school, because it takes a lot to adapt to a new town," Bündchen said. "They left all their friends in Boston -- and just look at what the world was going through. I needed to create a soft landing."

Bündchen also explained that taking the reins started long before deciding what schools her kids would attend or what kind of diet they would adhere to (healthy, almost always). She took control while her kids were still in the womb.

"I remember, in the beginning, he wasn't into the idea of home birth. He was like, 'You're not going to do that, because you're going to die,'" said Bündchen, who ultimately persuaded Brady by having him watch videos of home birthing. "I made it clear that this is my body and I'm going to decide how I give birth." When Benjamin was born 12 years ago, Bündchen said the 18-hour labor was "the most beautiful experience of my life."

Bündchen, it seems, will continue taking the family reins for the foreseeable future, what with Brady famously un-retiring. On top of that, the 44-year-old athlete is starring and producing his "80 for Brady" film. He also recently launched a golf line and already has his next job lined up once he decides to officially call it quits -- a career in the broadcast booth at Fox Sports.

With so much on his plate, it's no wonder Brady recently told ET he's felt "guilty" about how much time he's had to spend away from his family due to his career. It's also easy to see why he praises Bündchen for holding down the fort.

"Being available to your kids is really important... I feel like I'm so driven to succeed in football and that's taken me away from other important priorities, which are my kids, my wife," Brady told ET. "She's really held it down for our family. I'm super grateful that she really committed so much of her time the last 14 years to make sure everything was so stable at home, so I could go live my dream. I look back at my parents, and my dad and mom did the same thing for me."

"I do feel, maybe, some guilt that I haven't been able to do that in the same way for my kids, but I'm doing the best I can do," he added. "I'm trying to be really conscious and aware of that, and then when I do have the time to spend with them, I'm really present."

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