It's no surprise that former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Brazilian supermodel
Gisele Bündchen are living a life of luxury, but there are some aspects about their luxurious
lifestyle that might surprise you.
Here's the truth about Tom and Gisele's insanely glamorous life.
As Bundchen told Vogue, Brady popped the question in romantic, but not stuffy, fashion.
The former Patriots star, who met Bundchen through a friend in 2006, let her know her
apartment was flooding.
As you'd expect, Bundchen immediately rushed back home to salvage whatever she could and
assess the damage, only to realize she had been misled.
"When I got there, the whole apartment had candles and rose petals everywhere."
Next thing she knew, the prankster was on one knee and Bundchen was scolding him for
it, but not because he had tricked her into thinking her apartment was soaking in water.
She was actually worried about his knee.
"He just had surgery and had three staph infections.
I'm like 'What are you doing?'
He's like 'I got to go on my knees.'
I'm like 'No, no, no.
Get up.
Please.'"
Even during a huge moment like that, she was thinking about Brady's health first.
For such a high profile couple, Brady and Bundchen kept things pretty low key on their
wedding day, that is, extremely low key.
Rather than spend months planning their special day and inviting hundreds of guests, Brady
told GQ that they put their wedding together in around 10 days and only invited immediate
family.
That's right, no fellow supermodels, and no fellow football players.
The wedding took place at the Santa Monica Catholic Church in California only a month
after they got engaged in 2009, according to Brides.
The reception was held at their home.
As for the menu?
Brady told GQ,
"We went back to the house and I barbecued aged New York strips.
We had champagne, a cake, some ice cream.
It was a great night.
[There was] really something special about just having our parents there."
Apparently not every celebrity wedding has to be an over-the-top affair.
There are many benefits to being married to a world-famous supermodel.
While it may not be too high on his list, Brady has the benefit of living with a fashion
expert who can dish out advice whenever he needs it, and he knows this perk all too well.
He told People,
"[Gisele] has her own recommendations, and I certainly listen, because if your wife doesn't
like it, then you should probably move on to something else."
Not all of Bundchen's suggestions, however, have been a home run, or a touchdown, rather.
Brady told People in a separate interview that it was Bundchen who had picked out his
widely-mocked Met Gala outfit in 2018, which earned him comparisons on Twitter to everything
from a magician to a Chinese New Year calendar.
If you're thinking Brady and Bundchen's second wedding was the blowout that the first one
wasn't, think again.
The wedding took place a few months later at their home in Costa Rica and included around
40 guests, according to Brady's interview with GQ.
And just like the first one, the sequel was teammate- and model-free.
Extended family only and three friends a piece.
Brady explained,
"The thing about it is, the day's for you.
It's nothing personal against anybody, but it's not about them.
It's about what you and your wife need for that day."
Bundchen revealed in her book, Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life, that she was barefoot
during the quick ceremony, which took place in their open living room, and there was no
formal wedding reception.
Guests ate Mexican food and drank margaritas in their kitchen and on the lawn.
And no, Brady didn't cook this time.
But Bundchen said he did make music playlists, so he was technically the DJ!
Why just ride around in a helicopter when you can fly them as well?
That's what Bundchen has been doing ever since she received her helicopter license in 2009.
And if that isn't enough, she earned her license while seven months pregnant, according to
her interview on The Late Late Show with James Corden.
So much for taking it easy.
Bundchen told Corden that she enrolled in lessons for a pretty practical, and slightly
fear-based, reason:
"There is only one pilot.
I wonder what happens if something happens to the pilot.
So I thought maybe it would be the perfect time to fly helicopters."
But there seems to be more to the story.
Keith Douglass, the president of Shoreline Aviation, told People that Bundchen's interest
in all things aviation was also due to her role as goodwill ambassador for the UN's Environment
Programme.
He explained,
"She is trying to promote alternative fuel, and she's going to be very active doing that."
Family and friends who visit Brady and Bundchen's lavish mansion don't leave empty-handed.
The couple has so many pairs of UGG slippers thanks to Brady's endorsement deal with the
luxury shoe brand that Bundchen literally gives them away to visitors.
Brady told Women's Wear Daily,
"We have a bench when you come in the house, and underneath my wife has a basket full of
slippers.
Whenever we have people over, she's like, 'Help yourself.'"
Brady and Bundchen are handing out slippers that retail for about $100 per pair, just
further proof that it's good to be related to or be friends with Brady and Bundchen.
But there may be an ulterior motive to Bundchen's generosity.
Brady told USA Today,
"[UGG slippers are] the only shoes I can wear in the house because my wife doesn't want
to let anyone wear shoes in the house."
Much has been made about Brady's quirky diet.
He eats avocado ice cream, for one thing, and he rarely eats fruits or tomatoes.
One of the people behind that heavily plant-based diet is Allen Campbell, who served as Brady
and Bundchen's personal chef and helped Brady write his $200 "TB12 Nutrition Manual" book.
Once the media came calling to ask about Brady's diet, Campbell saw his profile rise.
Campbell admitted to Boston Magazine,
"I had no idea that was going to happen."
It was the perfect opportunity to make a move, and that's exactly what Campbell did.
He gave up his sweet gig with Brady and Bundchen to launch his brand, which includes a food
service, his role as a partner chef at ArtScience restaurant in the Boston-area, and co-writing
the book The Game of Eating Smart.
And don't worry, there are no hard feelings with his former employers.
Campbell explained,
"They were the ones that said, 'Hey, it's okay, we see you have these opportunities.'"
Just how much does Tom Brady's Number 12 jersey number mean to him?
More than you think, according to a Page Six report.
Brady and Bundchen were set to move into an 11th floor apartment in New York's Tribeca
neighborhood that overlooked the Hudson River.
The price tag was $20 million.
But apparently when the couple visited the 14-floor building in 2017, which had yet to
be completed at that point, Brady had a change of heart.
Rather than live on the 11th floor as planned, Brady now wanted to move to the 12th floor
instead, the implication being that he liked that the 12th floor coincided with his Number
12 jersey number.
"It's kind of a pretty typical quarterback number, but it's worked pretty well for me,
so I'm glad they gave it to me when I first got here."
The five-bedroom, five and a half bathroom apartment on the 12th floor was listed at
$32 million, $12 million more than what Brady and Bundchen paid for the 11th floor apartment.
It turns out, Brady didn't even choose the Number 12 jersey number when he entered the
NFL.
He got stuck with it because the Number 10 he wore in college at the University of Michigan
had already been taken by a punter.
Everyone knows Brady and Bundchen are ridiculously wealthy, but exactly how much are they worth
combined?
And how does their wealth compare to that of other celebrity couples?
The general consensus is that their combined net worth is more than half a billion dollars.
Business Insider estimates that number is $560 million, with Brady's net worth at $180
million and Bundchen at more than double that with a whopping $380 million.
That figure puts Brady and Bundchen ahead of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, who have an
estimated $320 million and in the same territory as Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West, who
have an estimated $510 million.
But they're still well behind Victoria and David Beckham, who have an estimated $900
million, as well as Jay Z and Beyonce, who have a staggering $1.35 billion, according
to Business Insider.
With Bundchen retired from the runway and Brady in the twilight of his NFL career, it
remains to be seen if the pair can stay near the top of the list for years to come.
Bundchen is not only worth more than Brady, she's worth a lot more than Brady.
As in, more than double.
And, yes, a woman making significantly more than her husband might be a big deal to those
with outdated views, but not Brady.
He's the one who pointed it out in so many words during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel
Live.
What some might not realize is that Brady could have earned significantly more during
his football career, but chose not to.
Confused?
Brady can explain.
"It's a salary cap.
You can only spend so much.
And the more one guy gets is less for others."
He added that it gives him a "competitive advantage" to have great players around him,
and that strategy has helped Brady win six Super Bowls.
In other words, Brady chose winning over money.
Another reason he could do that?
His wife's salary.
"I think the thing I've always felt for me in my life, winning has been a priority and
my wife makes a lot of money."
Here's a rare case of Brady and Bundchen facing rejection.
The couple applied to join the upscale Country Club in the Boston area and, unlike just about
everywhere else they go, Brady and Bundchen weren't exactly welcomed with open arms.
Instead, their application was put on hold.
The Boston Globe reported that members were concerned with the impact two high-profile
members could have on the low-key club.
Brady was reportedly told they would reexamine their application when he retires.
The club eventually caved and accepted the world famous couple, but it took about two
years to happen.
It's hard not to wonder: Why would Brady and Bundchen even bother with the club, which
reportedly has an infamous history of discrimination?
For one, it was located conveniently next door to their home.
And secondly, the golf course is said to be one of the best in the country.
Brady, ever the golf enthusiast, had been spotted playing on the course after getting
accepted.
Brady and Bundchen have kept some interesting "pets" over the years.
They had a chicken coop at their Los Angeles home, which is where they would get their
eggs.
Bundchen told Food & Wine,
"We have very little waste because the chickens eat all of the vegetable scraps, and anything
they won't eat, I put in my compost pile with the chicken poo."
And in their Boston-area home, they're the proud owners of a bee hive.
Bundchen told People they harvest the honey and use it as a sweetener in some snacks.
This is all part of Bundchen's insistence on living mindfully and teaching her kids,
as well as her husband, about the environment.
She told Architectural Digest,
"It's so important for kids to understand where their food comes from.
And whether you're talking about a home or the land, it's the same, if you nurture something,
it will nurture you back."
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