Overview

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen's Divorce refers to reports that superstar NFL quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel wife Gisele Bündchen are ending their marriage, reportedly due to Bündchen's unhappiness with Brady's decision to return to football after a brief retirement from the game. The news led to a flood of jokes and memes online about how Brady made a poor decision to end his retirement at the expense of his marriage.

Background

Tom Brady briefly retired from the NFL following the 2021 season, but on March 13th, 2022, announced he was returning to be the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a mere two months of retirement.^[1] In May, Bündchen then gave an interview with Vogue^[3] where she discussed her marriage to Brady, and as rumors of the pair's split resurfaced, some felt there were clues that she was unhappy with Brady's decision to unretire in that interview (seen below).^[4]

During the Bucs' 2022 training camp in August, Brady had a mysterious 11-day absence that drew the attention of the sports world, but the Bucs' coaching staff and Brady downplayed the absence. On September 1st, the New York Post^[2] then reported that Brady and Gisele Bündchen, his wife of 13 years, were having serious fights centered around his decision to un-retire. On September 16th, reports surfaced that the pair were living separately.^[5] On October 4th, the New York Post^[6] then reported that the pair had hired divorce lawyers.

Online Reaction

Online, many reacted with schadenfreude at Brady's misfortune. As rumors of Brady's marital woes spread in September 2022, New York Magazine opined that Brady had become a hateable figure for his good looks, incredible professional success and seemingly bland personality. Thus, Brady's marriage troubles led many to joke and meme online, centering mostly around poking fun at his decision to return to football and perform somewhat poorly at the expense of his marriage.

For example, on October 4th, 2022, Twitter user @Alex_Navarro^[7] wrote, "whatever you think of Tom Brady, you have to admit that blowing up your marriage to Gisele Bundchen so you can get powerbombed three hours a week by guys 20 years younger than you and achieve, generously, an 8-9 record is objectively a very funny bit," gaining over 340 retweets and 5,700 likes in one day (shown below).

That same day on October 4th, Twitter user @LvrJesus^[8] posted a Babe Please Stop meme about the situation, gaining over 1,500 retweets and 24,000 likes in one day (shown below).

Search Interest

External References