Tom Brady spoke about his divorce from Gisele Bündchen on Monday for the first time publicly since he and Bündchen released statements on Friday confirming their split.
Brady discussed the subject on his weekly podcast “Let’s Go!” with interviewer Jim Gray. Roughly 17 minutes into the 28-minute episode, Gray broached the subject by asking Brady about the things going on his life “away from the football field.” Bündchen’s name was not mentioned.
“There’s a lot of professionals in life that go through things that they deal with at work and they deal with at home,” Brady said. “Obviously the good news is that it’s a very amicable situation, and I’m really focused on two things — taking care of my family and certainly my children. And secondly doing the best job I can to win football games.
“That’s what professionals do. You focus at work when it’s time to work. Then when you come home, you focus on the priorities that are at home. All you can do is the best you could do. That’s what I’ll just continue to do as long as I’m working and as long as I’m being a dad.”
Brady hasn’t faced media since the divorce was announced. The Bucs played on Thursday night, and he and and Bündchen confirmed their divorce with social media statements early Friday. Discussing a topic as painful as divorce on a public platform can’t be easy. It’s understandable why Brady would choose to do so on his own terms via a podcast with his name on it.
Brady and Gray kept the discussion of his personal life brief, and he addressed the topic as it relates to his dual roles as a professional athlete and father.
“That’s what being a professional is,” Brady said when asked if it was challenging to compartmentalize. “I’ve dealt with a lot of challenging situations on and off the field over 23 years, and a lot of it does play out in front of a lot of people. …
“Everyone’s going through different things. We all have our unique challenges in life. We’re all humans. We do the best we can do. I have incredible parents that have always taught me the right way to do things. I want to be a great father to my children and always try to do the right things as well.”
Brady and Gray then turned the subject back to football, which also isn’t the easiest topic amid a 3-5 start for the Bucs.
“Losing sucks,” Brady said. “No one’s feeling sorry for the Bucs. We know that. And we’ve gotta go change it.”
Brady previously described the split as “painful and difficult” in his social media announcement. The couple confirmed their divorce amid speculation that Brady’s decision to return to the football field this year played a role in their pending breakup.
“We arrived at this decision to end our marriage after much consideration,” Brady wrote. “Doing so is, of course, painful and difficult, like it is for so many people who go through the same thing every day around the world. However we wish only the best for each other as we pursue whatever new chapters in our lives that are yet to be written.”
Bündchen wrote in her statement that the couple had “grown apart.”
“The decision to end a marriage is never easy but we have grown apart and while it is, of course, difficult to go through something like this, I feel blessed for the time we had together and only wish the best for Tom always.”