Gisele Bündchen Opens Up About The Upside To Giving Up Alcohol

Gisele Bündchen is sharing her journey of giving up the bottle in exchange for a focus on fitness and natural remedies.

The supermodel, who suffered a downturn when her husband of 13 years, Tom Brady, filed for divorce, embraced her current lifestyle as a response to her past struggles with anxiety and depression. As a result, she now experiences increased clarity, sharper focus, and improved sleep.

Long-standing fans of Gisele are familiar with her previous special relationship with alcohol. She had taken up the habit of "drinking a bottle of wine every night" to treat her "severe panic attacks and depression" in her younger days.

After so many years of turning to alcohol for solace, she finally decided to become sober "over two years" ago and has seemingly reaped great rewards. Speaking about the benefits during a recent and exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the sixth-generation Brazilian beauty admitted:

"Right after I turned 40, actually, I felt a huge difference between when I had the glass of wine and when I didn't have the glass of wine. It's socially accepted to have a glass of wine. And people even say, 'Oh, it's healthy for you.' Well, it is not healthy for me. If you want to ask of your body what I ask of my body, which is a lot, I can't be having all these things (alcohol, caffeine) because they add up."

The mother asserted that people "have to be loving" to themselves, adding, "You ask a lot of your body; you've got to do a reset. You have got to take care of this only vehicle you got, right?"

The Gaia Herb's wellness ambassador now cares for her body through daily meditation and exercise. "I'm just so grateful I have this body; I truly am. Now I've learned - because I wasn't so good in my 20s or teens - I realized my body is my temple, and I want to enjoy it. So for me, moving my body is huge," she explained.

Gisele's journey towards sobriety began after doctors told her she might die if she did not alter her lifestyle. That warning led one of her friends to suggest consulting a naturopath, who recommended a comprehensive detox. 

According to Daily Mail, this involved eliminating sugar, grains, dairy, caffeine, alcohol, and cigarettes, which she noted came with intense withdrawal symptoms as she transitioned to a healthier way of living. In her words:

"I think those were the worst migraines I've ever had in my life. The doctor, he was French, would call me Adrenalina. I remember him saying, "Well, do you want to live?" It was that simple."

Three months after embarking on her detox journey, Gisele reported that her debilitating symptoms had largely disappeared. She subsequently began rising at 5 AM daily to meditate and exercise, significantly improving her overall well-being.

In the wake of her divorce, the former Victoria's Secrets' Angel took her two kids, Benjamin and Vivian Lake, and relocated to Miami, Florida. Per The Blast, she gushed about the change during an appearance at the recent Luz Alliance Gala, where she played a significant role in helping the Brazil Foundation raise nearly a million dollars for reforestation initiatives in Brazil. 

"I love Miami. I love the sunshine, and people are hot and welcoming; it feels like home. I am very active, and Miami is all about being outside, so I enjoy that," she giddily expressed to media outlets.

She then touched on the ease of traveling to Brazil since she is making the big move, stating, "It also is easier to go to Brazil from here, so my sisters [twin Patricia and sisters Rafaela, Graziela, Gabriela, and Raquel] come to visit a lot more now, which makes me so happy."

What made Gisele even happier was that her babies loved the city as much as she did and had found fun activities to enjoy there. On that, she shared:

"The kids love Miami too. Vivi is passionate about horses and is very into jumping right now. We also love being outdoors and enjoy jumping together on our big trampoline we have in our yard. We also love paddle boarding and kayaking; doing things together is so much fun."