Staying hopeful? Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen wanted to save their relationship prior to their divorce filing.
“They both decided to end their marriage around a month ago,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly on Friday, October 28, shortly after the former couple announced their separation. “They both tried hard to save their marriage, but in the end it didn’t work out.”
The insider added: “They have been quietly working together to make sure this runs as smoothly as possible for their family.”
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, 45, and Bündchen, 42, are parents to son Benjamin, 12, and daughter Vivian, 9. (Brady also shares son Jack, 15, with ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan.) The twosome announced their amicable breakup via statements on their respective social media accounts.
“In recent days, my wife and I finalized our divorce from one another after 13 years of marriage,” the California native wrote via Instagram Story on Friday. “We arrived at this decision amicably and with gratitude for the time we spent together.”
Brady continued: “We arrived at this decision to end our marriage after much consideration. Doing so is, of course, painful and difficult, like it is for 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.”
The seven-time Super Bowl champ and Bündchen — who wed in February 2009 — initially sparked split rumors after Brady walked back his decision to retire earlier this year.
“Gisele was not happy when Tom un-retired from the NFL after such a short time,” a second source told Us last month, revealing the former couple were living in separate houses. “There is tension between them. They’re working through things and trying to come out the other side.”
While Brady announced in March that he had “unfinished business” with the Bucs after his 6-week retirement, the supermodel claimed she had already “done [her] part” as a dutiful NFL wife.
“I moved to Boston, and I focused on creating a cocoon and a loving environment for my children to grow up in and to be there supporting him and his dreams,” the Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life author told Elle in an October cover story. “Seeing my children succeed and become the beautiful little humans that they are, seeing him succeed, and being fulfilled in his career — it makes me happy. At this point in my life, I feel like I’ve done a good job on that.”
She added at the time: “Obviously, I have my concerns [with him returning to football] — this is a very violent sport, and I have my children and I would like him to be more present. 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.”
Bündchen noted in her Friday statement that she and Brady had “grown apart” and her primary focus is on her little ones. “My priority has always been and will continue to be our children whom I love with all my heart,” she wrote via Instagram Story. “We will continue coparenting to give them the love, care and attention they greatly deserve.”
With reporting by Travis Cronin
