TwitterIt's been six years since Gisele Bündchen said "I Do" to Tom Brady, and now the world's highest paid supermodel is finally discussing their less-than-perfect marriage behind the glare of the spotlight.
For the 35-year-old Brazilian beauty, it's been a whirlwind year. She retired from a 13-year runway career in April after taking her final strut on the catwalk in her native country. At the same time, a media frenzy began to brew around her New England Patriots quarterback husband. Brady became the center of the Deflategate scandal, which alleged that his team had tampered with the footballs used in the AFC's championship game against the Indianapolis Colts in January. At first, Brady was suspended for four games in the 2015 season, but the decision was later overturned.
While the father of her two children had ultimately reached a favorable verdict, the damage of the couple's tumultuous publicity had taken a toll on their public standing and fueled speculation of a rift at home.
"I think we've been through a few tough times together," she told Charlie Rose during an interview on CBS This Morning that aired Tuesday. "I think that's when you know who are your friends and who loves you. My father always said the quality of your life depends on the quality of your relationships, and I think, no matter how challenging it was, we've always been supportive of one another. I think that's the most important thing you can have in life, you know? A support system and love."
Bündchen admitted that it had not been the first time their relationship had faced a challenge. During the interview, she reflected on their initial whirlwind romance and discovering that Brady's former girlfriend, model and actress Bridget Moynahan, was several months pregnant.
"It was a challenging thing because here I am, you know, thinking I'm dating this guy. We met, we started dating, everything is great, and then this happens so I felt I didn't know what to do," she admitted. "Do I just run away?"
Spoiler alert: she didn't run. Fast forward eight years and the supermodel has nothing but compliments for her life partner.
"He's kind. He's a good man," she said, later saying of Brady's son John, 8, "I couldn't have asked for a sweeter bonus child."
In addition to her husband's career challenges, she faced some of her own when she announced she would be ending a pivotal—and lucrative—element of her modeling empire. Still, the 13-year globally highest paid model assured Rose that it's a time of transition, not a tragedy.
"I am so grateful to be where I am right now because I feel fulfilled. I feel I've given a lot of energy and dedication and focus to that and I think 20 years is like more than half my life doing that. I feel like that is long enough," she said, later thumbing through her latest project—a $700 photography book of her career in pictures.
"I still have some contracts and they are going to be still going forward," she said. "There are still some things I am going to be doing, but it's not my focus by any means anymore."
While many may have been hesitant about the Bündchen's decision, she's looking at her next chapter through rose-colored glasses.
"It's scary a little bit, but it's exciting," she said. "When you have no definition exactly of what it is, everything is possible. The miracles happen that way. Magic happens that way and I worked very hard since I was 14 years old to be here today in my life at this place to make that choice."