Before he ever met Gisele, Tom Brady had a long-term romance with another beautiful and
talented woman: actress Bridget Moynahan.
The pair were the talk of the town when they got together in 2004, and also when they split
in 2006 but nothing would match what was yet to come.
When Brady and Moynahan first got together back in 2004, Moynahan was basking in the
glow of her recent film and TV successes, having slayed roles in Coyote Ugly, Sex and
the City, and I, Robot.
"Huh-huh…I'm kinda partial to Sex and The City"
Brady was also enjoying an incredibly successful career, already bringing home Super Bowl wins
for the New England Patriots as their starting quarterback.
According to The Boston Globe, Moynahan said at the time that she saw herself married with
children within the next five years.
But things took a serious turn with an unexpected twist.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Moynahan and Brady split in December of 2006, according to People.
A rep for Moynahan told the magazine that they "amicably ended their […] relationship"
but fans wondered how such a seemingly happy relationship suddenly dissolved.
The mystery didn't last long.
Before the year was out, Brady was dating Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen, according
to The Boston Globe.
And per the couple, it was love at first sight.
Bündchen gushed to Vanity Fair,
"I knew right way — the first time I saw him."
"When I saw those kind eyes I was, I literally fall in love right away, I was like what"
The two are still together, married, with children.
So was Gisele the reason that Brady and Moynahan called it quits?
The couple remain tight-lipped to this day, but it seems likely that Brady fell for Bündchen,
leaving Moynahan behind.
As if things weren't dramatic enough, the biggest curve ball was yet to fly.
Just two and a half months after Brady and Bündchen started dating, Moynahan announced
that not only was she pregnant, but that Brady was the father.
Moynahan never envisioned herself becoming a single mother, telling Harper's Bazaar,
"Going through that traumatic time of being heartbroken and then being pregnant turned
my whole life upside down and inside out and just knocked the wind out of me."
News of the pregnancy also had a huge impact on Brady and his new lady, who had just started
their romantic journey together.
Bündchen briefly considered ending things and encouraging Brady to reunite with his
ex.
She told Vanity Fair,
"You question at times 'Should I stay here?
Maybe you should work this out.'"
But looking back, Bündchen views the whole experience with renewed perspective.
She said of Brady,
"I think it was a blessing, because otherwise I don't think I would have known what he was
made of, and he wouldn't have known what I was made of."
While Brady has been very involved in his first child's life, things were initially
tough for Moynahan, who was parenting all on her own.
She told Harper's Bazaar,
"Everyone says, 'You give birth, you go home, and you have this amazing baby and it's just
beautiful.'
And I walked in and I just started sobbing."
And while she admitted she was always "a traditional girl" who believed in marriage, she took on
the challenge to great success.
For many years, rumors circulated that Moynahan and Bündchen didn't like each other.
And Bündchen seemed to confirm those reports when she revealed that the two women hadn't
even met by 2009, via Vanity Fair.
In the same interview, Bündchen also claimed that Moynahan's son Jack was "100 percent"
her son.
But whatever drama may have initially plagued the relationship appears to be water under
the bridge, with Bundchen telling People,
"I'm so grateful for [Bridget].
I know this was hard, but I couldn't imagine my life without [Jack].
I call him my bonus child."
Just as Bündchen speaks no ill of Moynahan, Moynahan also refuses to gossip about her
ex and his wife.
She told More magazine she has her son's best interest in mind, saying,
"I never made a comment about Gisele or Tom publicly.
[…] My son has two loving parents and an extended family, whether it's cousins or stepmothers
or boyfriends.
My son is surrounded by love."
Brady and Bundchen may have been going strong since 2006, but Moynahan finally got her own
happily ever after in 2015 when she married businessman Andrew Frankel in a surprise ceremony,
according to People.
Moynahan affirmed just how happy she is, telling Live!,
"Married life is good!
You know, I finally figured it out in my forties that when it works, it works, and like there
doesn't have to be drama."
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