Tom Brady Is 'Doing What He Can Do To Smooth Things Over' With Gisele Bündchen

Tom Brady, the quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, made headlines a few weeks before the NFL season officially kicked off when he took an unexpected 11-day break from training camp in August due to “personal reasons”, according to Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles.

Reports then began speculating that he and his wife of 13 years, Gisele Bündchen, were having marital problems and taking some time apart, pointing to Brady’s decision to come out of retirement and return to the NFL as the main issue.

After Brady returned to training camp from his 11-day absence, he released a statement saying, “Everyone has different situations they’re dealing with, and we all have unique challenges to our lives. I’m 45 years old, man.”

Prior to Brady’s 11-day absence, Gisele Bündchen spoke to ELLE about her marriage and Brady’s decision to come out of retirement.

“Obviously, I have my concerns—this is a very violent sport, and I have my children and I would like him to be more present,” she told ELLE. “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 went on to say, “I’ve done my part, which is [to] be there for [Tom]. 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. 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.”

Now, a source is telling PEOPLE that the marriage between the Brazilian supermodel and NFL quarterback is not "over by any means" and that Brady is "doing what he can do to smooth things over" with his wife.

"She doesn't hate that he's playing football, but she sure hates the way he handled the retirement and coming back," a source tells PEOPLE. "He knows that, and he's doing what he can do to smooth things over. He does know that this is his last season if he wants to stay married. He can't do this again."

"So now all he can do is make this season count, spend time with his family whenever he can, and then retire at the end of the season," the source added.

The NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback announced his retirement in February 2022 shortly after getting knocked out of the playoffs by the Los Angeles Rams, but quickly retracted his retirement and announced in mid-March that he would return for a 23rd NFL season.

Sunday night was Brady’s first game of the 2022 NFL season. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took on Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys, beating them 19-3 with Brady throwing for 212 yards and one touchdown.

Bündchen Tweeted a message of support for Tom Brady right before kick-off, despite the rumors of their marriage falling apart. “Let’s go @TomBrady! Let’s go Bucs!,” she Tweeted.

https://twitter.com/giseleofficial/status/1569114757873168384?s=20&t=fsAORtppMqcyq56OCikOow

Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face Jameis Winston and the New Orleans Saints in week 2 of the NFL Sunday, September 18 at 1 PM ET/10 AM PT.