Model and mom Gisele Bündchen is a global icon, but to her kids, she’s simply “Mom.” She shares son Benjamin (born 2009) and daughter Vivian (born 2012) with ex-husband Tom Brady, and is also the stepmother to Jack (born 2007), Tom’s son with ex-partner Bridget Moynahan. In October 2024, news broke that she’s expecting her third child with boyfriend Joaquim Valente.
While Gisele is celebrated as a fashion legend, her children don’t fully grasp her world. When she brought Vivian to a photoshoot, her daughter was confused by the whole experience. “She saw me with all these different hairstyles and makeup — she didn’t understand why,” Bündchen recalled in a September 2022 interview with Elle. “She said, ‘Mommy, you look so much prettier without all that! Why are they touching you? Can they stop?’
Gisele Bündchen’s Insights on Motherhood: “We Are All Just Trying Our Best”
Gisele Bündchen is not only a world-renowned model but also a devoted mother to her children, Benjamin (born 2009) and Vivian (born 2012), whom she shares with ex-husband Tom Brady. Additionally, she is the stepmother to Jack (born 2007), Brady’s son with ex-partner Bridget Moynahan. As of October 2024, it has been reported that she is expecting her third child with her current boyfriend, Joaquim Valente.
Despite her status as a fashion icon, her children view her simply as “Mom.” In a September 2022 interview with Elle, Gisele recounted a memorable moment when she took Vivian to a photo shoot. The little girl was confused by the scene: “She saw me with all these different hairdos and makeup — she didn’t understand why. She said, ‘Mommy, you look so much prettier without all that! Why are they touching you? Can they stop?’”
Bündchen famously shared a candid moment on social media in December 2013, posting a photo of herself breastfeeding Vivian while getting her hair and makeup done. However, she has been transparent about the challenges of motherhood, noting that it isn’t always glamorous. In her 2018 memoir, Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life, she reflected on her transformative experience: “When I became a mom, I kind of lost myself. It was like a part of me died. I’d been this very independent person, focused on myself. But now I had this little being, and I suddenly felt I couldn’t do other things, which was very hard for me. All I ever wanted was to be a mom, but when you’re actually experiencing that, it’s a shock.”
After nearly 14 years of marriage, the environmental activist and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback decided to part ways in October 2022. “With much gratitude for our time together, Tom and I have amicably finalized our divorce,” Bündchen shared on Instagram. “Ending a marriage is never easy, but we’ve grown apart. While this is a difficult time, I feel blessed for the years we shared and wish Tom nothing but the best.”
Bündchen emphasized that her children would always come first. “My priority has always been and will continue to be our children, whom I love deeply,” she stated. “We will continue to co-parent, ensuring they receive the love, care, and attention they deserve.”
Keep reading for more of Bündchen’s insights on motherhood.
The Most Important Job
After Bündchen sparked controversy with her comments about breastfeeding, she explained that she didn’t mean for her remarks to sound as “black and white” as they did. “I am sure if I would just be sitting talking about my experiences with other mothers, we would just be sharing opinions. I understand that everyone has their own experience and opinions and I am not here to judge,” she wrote on her blog in August 2010. “I believe that bringing a life into this world is the single most important thing a person can undertake, and it can also be the most challenging. I think as mothers we are all just trying our best.”
Taking Care
“You know how they say on the plane you have to put the oxygen mask on first and then put it on your child? So, I think it is the same, as a mum, to take care of myself,” Bündchen told The Sunday Times in December 2014. “You can feel a bit guilty. But if I put my oxygen mask on first, if I’m feeling fulfilled and present and good about myself, then I’m going to be a much more patient, loving, understanding mother and wife. You have to fill your glass so that everyone can drink from it. That’s how I feel.”
Prioritizing Her Own Needs
“In my role as a mother, I’m constantly giving,” the model shared with Vogue in May 2017. “It’s essential to take time for yourself so that you can give from a place of abundance rather than depletion, which isn’t healthy for you or your family.”
Struggling With Mom Guilt
After welcoming her kids, Bündchen admitted that she sometimes felt guilty about continuing to work. “I had all this horrible, self-imposed guilt,” she wrote in her book. “I thought what a terrible mother I was for leaving my child even for like a day.” Taking them with her didn’t always alleviate that feeling, either. “I was feeling guilty for that too,” she added. “Like, ‘Here we are on a plane and the baby is crying.’”
Adjusting to Motherhood
In Lessons, the Taxi star revealed that she sometimes “felt overwhelmed or conflicted” when her children were younger. “I felt the massive new responsibility of motherhood. I wanted to do my best, and to do it right,” she explained. “The thing is, I was an experienced mom, in on-the-job training, plus I sometimes felt torn, since I knew I had so much more I wanted to create in the world. Now that the kids are older and in school, I know that soon I’ll be ready to begin climbing another mountain.”
Not ‘Just a Mom’
“If I ever hear someone saying, ‘She’s just a mom,’ it makes me angry. Being ‘just a mom’ is the foundation of everything,” Bündchen wrote in Lessons. “Being ‘just a mom’ ensures that our children have the foundation and support they need to succeed not just at work but at life. Millions of ‘just moms’ are busy raising future men and women who will someday influence the world in either positive or negative ways. Our culture likes to treat the daily multitasking that women perform as something to be expected. They’re not. There are a lot of mothers out there who make everything possible and everything happen, and I think they’re amazing.”