One of my favorite non-stories of the last year has been the reported “marital problems” of Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady.

Bundchen has now said this, from a recent Elle piece:

Although she and her husband have joked about his potential retirement for years, Bündchen is often depicted by the media as desperate for Brady to call it quits. I tell her the characterization seems sexist to me, and she agrees. “I think this is the system we’ve been living in. That’s what society has accepted and what society hasn’t accepted.” Ultimately, she wants him to be happy and she knows better than anyone how much he loves the sport. “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 says. “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.”

I would like him to be more present” is a great line. I guarantee that every wife on the planet has said this to their husband at least once in the past month. There will not be a splitting of hairs, though. Whether it’s physically present or emotionally present, there must be more presence and buy in as an overarching and generic theme.

Gisele is basically the same as everyone’s wife, which is reassuring in a way, because even the rich and famous and beautiful have the same relationship problems everyone else does. In my case, I’m trying to find a local pick up game and get some run in, while in Brady’s case he’s trying to extend a Hall of Fame career, but the concept is the same, if you think about it:

Your wife: I was thinking we could go to the flower show this weekend.

You: hey sorry, I made plans to watch Red Zone all day

Gisele Bundchen: can you retire and spend time with your family?

Tom Brady: I would but I’m gonna play a few more seasons

Tom has the rest of his life to sit around and watch Netflix and spend time with the kids. Gisele has made it this far already. She just has to hang on 1-2 more years and then she’s home free. The good thing is that Tom Brady will never have to work again, whereas the rest of us schlubs have to keep it going into our 60s, so she’s simply just frontloaded her marriage and will get all of this extra time on the back end. The sacrifice will be worth it. She basically put her career on ice to let Tom be the best quarterback of all time, so she’s a superstar, too.


p.s. – I thought it was pretty hot when Gisele ripped Brady’s receivers after that one Super Bowl and said “my husband cannot fucking throw the ball and catch it at the same time.” Find yourself a woman who will absolutely trash your teammates and have your back always. Ride or die.