tom brady gisele bundchen

Tom Brady Shares Mysterious Quote After Gisele Bündchen’s Interview

As his supermodel ex-wife won the news cycle, Tom Brady opted for a classic response. Like, the now former NFL quarterback quoted a classic poem from Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Nope, we weren’t expecting this sort of response from Tom Brady in the hours after Gisele Bundchen’s Vanity Fair article hit the internet. Yet Brady sneaked in a 15-line poem in his Instagram story. We all should have a screenshot of our favorite poem at the ready next time our ex speaks out.

Brady’s poem is “What Is Success.” It should be noted that some historians believe Bessie Anderson Stanley wrote the lines in 1905, although Emerson receives credit for the poem.

Anyway, here are the lines posted by Tom Brady:

“What is success? To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate the beauty to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!” And then Brady used three red heart emojis at the end of the poem.

So, is Tom Brady directing any of this towards Gisele? Or is the ex-quarterback sifting through his library of classic American literature, looking for a perfect post to jump-start his morning? We’re not so sure.

Gisele told Vanity Fair that she never gave her husband an ultimatum to quit football or quit their marriage. “When you love someone, you don’t put them in a jail and say, ‘You have to live this life,” Gisele said. “You set them free to be who they are, and if you want to fly the same direction, then that’s amazing.”

Gisele opted to chat big picture and how she’d always love her ex. It almost sounded like she was pulling her quotes from a romance novel. The two divorced last fall.

“Listen, I have always cheered for him, and I would continue forever,” Gisele says of Tom Brady. “If there’s one person I want to be the happiest in the world, it’s him, believe me. I want him to achieve and to conquer. I want all his dreams to come true. That’s what I want, really, from the bottom of my heart.” 

Tom Brady retired from the NFL and the Tampa Bay Bucs on Feb. 1. He and Gisele, who have two children together, both maintain homes in Miami so that they can co-parent. Brady also has a son with Bridget Moynihan.

Perhaps he’ll use some lines from Walt Whitman or Henry David Thoreau next time he needs a classic quote for the ‘Gram.