On Friday, Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen announced on social media that they had divorced amicably after 13 years of marriage.
For several weeks, multiple reports indicated that the marriage was on the verge of ending. Earlier this month, Page Six reported that the power couple had hired divorce lawyers.
Brady and Bündchen were married in 2009. They have two children together, a son and a daughter. The two agreed to joint custody of their children. Brady also has a son from a previous relationship with actress Bridget Moynahan.
It has widely been suggested that Brady’s decision to end a 40-day retirement was a key reason behind Bündchen wanting a divorce. On Friday, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk shared a strange football-related theory that may have also played a factor in the divorce.
Florio discussed the theory during an appearance on Barstool’s “Pardon My Take” podcast (h/t Jenna Lemoncelli of the New York Post):
“There’s a theory in league circles, and I think I’m couching it properly, that the issues with Tom Brady and his wife blew up when the league announced the punishment of the Dolphins. Because of the flirtation with Brady, because she had, as the theory goes, no idea he was talking to the Dolphins.
But I’m telling you, there are people who are employed by NFL teams who think that. And when you look at the timeline, that stuff came out, and it was the next day he started missing practices.”
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Florio added that this was simply “reckless speculation.” But of course, it’s not going to stop some people from seriously buying into the theory.
Earlier this offseason, the NFL punished the Miami Dolphins and owner Stephen Ross for tampering with Brady (while the latter was with the New England Patriots) and former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton.
Miami was docked its 2023 first and 2024 third-round draft picks. Ross was suspended through Oct. 17 and fined $1.5 million.
Brady would sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 free agency. Payton remained the Saints head coach through 2021 before resigning, though it’s widely believed that he’ll return to the sidelines in the near future.
Brady and the Buccaneers are among football’s biggest disappointments through eight games. They lost 27-22 to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday, marking Brady’s first three-game losing streak since 2002.
