Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen’s marriage: In their own words

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen's marriage has been at the center of rumors over the past several weeks. 

Fast-forward to Tuesday, reports surfaced that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback and the former Brazilian model have hired divorce attorneys following months of "tension" between the pair.

The couple, who have been married for 13 years and share two children together, are reportedly spending time apart. Bündchen was spotted Monday in Miami without her wedding ring.

Though the pair hasn't directly commented on the reports surrounding the current state of their relationship, here’s a look back at the times Brady and Bündchen have spoken about their union.

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Instant connection

In 2009, Bundchen told Vanity Fair that she instantly felt a connection to Brady.

"I knew right way—the first time I saw him," Bündchen told the outlet. "We met through a friend. The moment I saw him, he smiled and I was like, That is the most beautiful, charismatic smile I’ve ever seen! We sat and talked for three hours."

She continued, "I had to go home for Christmas, but I didn’t want to leave. You know that feeling of, like, you can’t get enough? From the first day we met, we’ve never spent one day without speaking to each other."

Blending their family

Gisele and Tom share two children together: son Benjamin Rein, 12, and daughter Vivian Lake, 9. Brady also has son Jack Edward, 15, with ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan. 

On Instagram in February 2020, Bündchen was asked via Instagram story how she feels being Jack's "step-mom," which she replied that she doesn't like to use that word to refer to herself.

"I don't like the word 'stepmom,'" she said at the time. "I like the word 'bonus mom' because I feel like it's a blessing in my life. I feel so lucky that I got to have an extra wonderful little angel in my life."

In her 2018 memoir, the supermodel revealed that she and Brady decided to start their family earlier than planned as they wanted Jack to have siblings that were close to his age.

10-year wedding anniversary 

In a 2019 Instagram post, Brady described Bündchen as "my rock, my love and my light." He wrote, "I know our journey has not been easy, but the challenges we have overcome have made our bond stronger and our love grow deeper."

For her part, Bündchen wrote that there was "nothing that I love more in this world than you and our family."

She added, "Thank you for being on this journey with me and for doing the work that it takes to make it so special."

Gisele helped Tom ‘grow’

In Men's Health's September 2019 cover issue, Brady touched on his wife's upbringing and noted that Bündchen's ideals she gained due to her upbringing forced the football star to "grow."

"Gisele's life has been very nontraditional. She left home when she was 14; she lived in Japan at 16 in an era with no cell phones. She lived in New York at 17 without speaking English," Brady said.

"In her mind, there are no boundaries. 'Why can't you do that? Why do you have to go to school? Why can't you just leave and live in a different country?' " he shared. "In her reality, you can."

"Coming from mine, it was very different. This is what you do: You go to elementary school, you go to college," Brady continued. "In her mind, why do you have to do any of those things?"

"And you know what, she's right," he said. "I'm the one that had to go, 'You're right!' And that's helped me grow."

Marriage counseling

In 2020, Brady appeared on "The Howard Stern Show" and said Bündchen told him she "wasn’t satisfied" with their marriage in 2018. 

"[Gisele] didn't feel like I was doing my part for the family," Brady said during an interview with Howard Stern on his show in April 2020. 

"She felt like I would play football all season and she would take care of the house, and then all of a sudden when the season ended, I'd be like, 'Great, let me get into all of my other business activities. Let me get into my football training,' and she's sitting there going, 'Well when are you going to do things for the house? When are you going to take the kids to school and do that?'"

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He noted to Stern that this experience was a wake-up call to him and added, "that was a big part of our marriage that I had to like check myself because she was like 'I have goals and dreams too.'"

‘A thought out letter’

During the same interview on Stern’s radio show, Brady admitted he felt "resentful" toward his wife for having issues in their marriage before Bündchen wrote him a letter expressing her feelings about their marriage.

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After reading that letter, Brady realized he had to change his role in their family’s lives.

"She actually wrote me a letter, and it was a very thought out letter that she wrote to me and I still have it and I keep it in a drawer and I read it," he told Stern. 

"It's a very heartfelt letter for her to say this is where I'm at in our marriage, and it's a good reminder for me that things are going to change and evolve over time. What happened and what worked for us 10 years ago won't work for us forever because we are growing in different ways."

Brady shared in the 2020 interview that mending their relationship all came down to balance.

"The point of a relationship is that it has to work for both [partners]," he shared. "You better work on both because if you don't then it's not sustainable."

‘I would like him to be more present’

Brady came out of retirement in March, just two months after he announced he would be stepping away from the game. In Elle’s October cover story, Bündchen shared her concerns regarding her husband returning to the sport and how she was thrilled when he announced his retirement.

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"Obviously, I have my concerns. This is a very violent sport, and I have my children, and I would like him to be more present," she told the outlet. 

"I have definitely had those conversations with him over and over again. But, ultimately, I feel that everybody has to make a decision that works for [them]. He needs to follow his joy, too."

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Prior to the start of the football season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback spoke candidly about his off-field tribulations, sharing with reporters after an 11-day absence from training camp, "I'm 45 years old, man. There's a lot of s--- going on, so you just have to try and figure out life the best you can. You know, it's a continuous process."

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Fox News Digital's Ashley Hume contributed to this report