Gisele Bündchen Addressed Cheating Rumors: She Called Leaving an 'Unhealthy Relationship' Courageous and Denied an Affair

# What happened Gisele Bündchen was asked directly about reports that she had an affair with Joaquim Valente while still married to Tom Brady. She responded by denying the claim and explaining why those accusations follow women who leave relationships. The conversation and surrounding reporting gained renewed attention after publication of a new Brady biography that revisits the end of their marriage.

# Her public response In an interview with The New York Times, Bündchen was asked whether the affair rumors were true. She said, "That's a lie." She framed the situation as part of a broader social pattern: when women leave relationships, they are often blamed and labeled unfaithful. Bündchen emphasized that only the two people in a relationship know what transpired, and that the fallout includes dealing with family and community reactions.

# The timeline that triggered attention

• Bündchen and Tom Brady married in 2009 and had two children during their marriage.
• They announced their divorce on October 28, 2022, after 13 years together.
• Bündchen and Joaquim Valente first crossed paths in December 2021. They were seen together as friends in early 2022 in Miami and Costa Rica.
• Gisele and Joaquim publicly indicated their romantic relationship began in June 2023.

That gap between public timelines and external sightings is the source of the affair speculation. A cited source close to Brady disputed the public timeline, suggesting Bündchen and Valente had been together longer than publicly stated. The source said Brady "has accepted it" but was not friends with Valente and would need to adapt if Valente became a father figure to their children.

# Related reporting and context A new book, Brady: An American Story and the Price of Greatness, added fuel to the conversation by including details about the marriage's final years. The book reports that Bündchen wrote Brady a handwritten note after the 2018 Super Bowl asking for more presence, help with the kids, and time for her own career. The biography and subsequent coverage prompted renewed focus on the marriage's breakdown and on each party's role.

# What Bündchen emphasized Bündchen pushed back against a simple scandal narrative. She said the label of infidelity is frequently applied to women who leave relationships and that scrutiny intensifies for public figures. Her message was that outsiders cannot know the private dynamics between two people.

• Divorce announced: October 28, 2022.
• Initial meeting with Joaquim Valente: December 2021.
• Publicly acknowledged dating timeline with Valente: June 2023.
• Bündchen denied affair claims in a New York Times interview, calling them false.

# Why this matters for readers This story shows how timing, public sightings, and new reporting can combine to create persistent rumors around high-profile breakups. Bündchen's denial and framing provide her perspective: that accusations often reflect social tendencies to blame the person who leaves, particularly women, rather than reveal the private reasons two people separate.

# What's next