Within two weeks of Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen finalizing their divorce in October 2022, the supermodel sparked speculation that she already had a new boyfriend when she was spotted on vacation in Costa Rica with her handsome jiu-jitsu instructor Joaquim Valente.
At the time and over the next 15 months, sources close to Bundchen have insisted that her association with Valence was strictly platonic and professional: He provided personal martial arts instruction to both her and her two children.
That “just friends” narrative ended last week when Page Six reported that Bundchen and Valente are “deeply in love.” Even still, Bundchen’s camp tried to downplay the romance by telling People that she and Valente only began dating in June 2023. Up to that point, they were just “great friends.”
“They’re taking it slow,” a source told People, as the two “get to know each other.”
This week, Brady’s camp strongly disputed this June 2023 start date for his ex-wife’s romance with Valente, Page Six reported. Indeed, insiders close to Brady ran to TMZ to suggest that the Bundchen’s romance with Valente blossomed when she and the retired NFL quarterback were still married.
“They should add ‘2021’ after June,” Camp Brady sources told TMZ this week. “Then the headline would be accurate.”
Brady and the supermodel separated in June 2022 and divorced several months later. They share son Benjamin Rein, 14, and daughter Vivian Lake, 11. Brady also has a son Jack, 16, from a previous relationship.
A source close to Bundchen insisted to Page Six that there was no cheating on her part.
Still, Page Six described all the ways Bundchen and Valente have spent time together, as “just friends,” they say, in the aftermath from her divorce from Brady.
In the fall of 2022, the supermodel was splitting her time between Tampa, Fla., and Costa Rica while she waited for work on her new Miami home to be finished.
Valente and his brother run a martial arts studio in Miami, and the brothers accompanied Bundchen on her trip to Costa Rica in November 2022. At the time, TMZ heard from Bundchen sources who said that the brothers are part of a team that travel with her and her home-schooled children to make sure they keep up with their academics and physical education.
Valente also accompanied her on several other trips to Costa Rico and Brazil. Over the past year, photographers have caught Bundchen and Valente on those trips, paddleboarding, strolling on the beach, jogging, riding horses and hitting the gym.
For a March 2023 Vanity Fair cover story, Bundchen dismissed rumors that she was dating Valente.
“He’s our teacher and, most importantly, he’s a person that I admire and that I trust,” the Sports Illustrated model said. “It’s so good to have that kind of energy, to have my kids around that type of energy.”
She continued: “I think, at this point, unfortunately, because I’m divorced, I’m sure (the media are) going to try to attach me to anything. … I’m so grateful to know all of (the Valente brothers), because not only have they helped me and helped my kids, but they have become great friends, and Joaquim especially.”
Page Six broke the news last week that her relationship with Valente was no longer platonic when a source spotted the two kissing on Valentine’s Day in her Miami neighborhood. A source told Page Six that the model and the martial arts expert “had a conversation and became a couple,” though this source said the romance began in July, not in June, as People reported.
Another source again insisted to People that the romance blossomed months after her split from Brady, saying that Valente “was a huge comfort for Gisele while she went through her divorce.” The source also said that Bundchen was hesitant to date after her divorce but that Valente “is a great guy. He is down to earth, kind and inspiring. … It’s been very natural for her to date (him).”
Meanwhile, Brady hasn’t been known to be dating anyone seriously, but was spotted spending time last summer with model Irina Shayk, the ex-girlfriend of actor Bradley Cooper. Brady also has been hanging out with his friend Leonardo DiCaprio and offered a humorous turn in a Super Bowl ad for Dunkin’ Donuts that he filmed with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.