Gisele Bündchen has entered a very different phase of her life. Once one of the most recognisable faces in global fashion, the Brazilian supermodel is now placing motherhood, health, family and a quieter lifestyle ahead of the relentless schedule that defined much of her career.
At 46, Bündchen is married to Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor Joaquim Valente. The couple married privately in December 2025 and welcomed their first child together, a son, in February of that year. Bündchen also has two older children, Benjamin and Vivian, from her former marriage to American football star Tom Brady.
Her latest comments have attracted renewed attention because they reveal just how dramatically her definition of success has changed. In a September 2026 interview with i-D, Bündchen said she now turns down 99 per cent of the work offered to her because she does not want professional commitments to take her away from important moments with her children.
For someone whose career once demanded constant travel, this is a significant shift. Bündchen is not walking away from fashion altogether, but she is choosing when and why she works.
Gisele Bündchen today: marriage, motherhood and a quieter life
The most important recent development in Gisele Bündchen’s personal life is her marriage to Joaquim Valente.
Valente is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor who became known publicly through his connection with Bündchen. The pair were first linked romantically after Bündchen’s divorce from Brady, although their relationship developed privately. Their romance became more widely reported during 2023 before they eventually married in a small ceremony in Surfside, Florida, on 3 December 2025. People reported that the wedding was deliberately private, reflecting the couple’s preference for keeping their family life away from excessive media attention.
Their son, whose name has not been publicly disclosed, was born in February 2025. The baby is Bündchen’s third child and her first with Valente. Benjamin and Vivian, her children with Brady, are older teenagers and remain an important part of her life.
Bündchen has spoken positively about becoming a mother again in her forties. Rather than presenting the experience as a challenge to her career, she has described it as a new perspective on life.
In her recent i-D interview, she said having a baby at this stage felt like a gift because she was in a different place emotionally and professionally. Her comments suggest that she no longer feels the need to meet outside expectations about what a successful woman should look like or how she should live.
Why Gisele Bündchen now rejects most modelling jobs
Perhaps the most revealing detail from Bündchen’s latest interview is her admission that she rejects 99 per cent of the work offered to her.
That figure illustrates the difference between the supermodel’s career at its peak and her priorities today. Bündchen explained that she weighs professional opportunities against everyday family experiences, including attending her daughter’s volleyball games or spending time with her younger son.
For much of her career, such a decision would have been difficult to imagine.
Bündchen became an international model while still a teenager and eventually built one of the most commercially successful careers in fashion history. She worked with major designers and brands, appeared on countless magazine covers and became strongly associated with Victoria’s Secret during the early 2000s.
Her success was not simply the result of conventional beauty. Bündchen helped popularise a more athletic, energetic image of the fashion model, helping shift the industry’s aesthetic away from the ultra-thin look that had dominated parts of the 1990s.
British Vogue recently revisited her extraordinary early career, recalling how Bündchen was working internationally while still very young and had developed a reputation for discipline and resilience. She has also recently trained as a Pilates instructor, reflecting the importance of movement and wellbeing in her life today.
From Brazilian teenager to global supermodel
Gisele Caroline Bündchen was born on 20 July 1980 in Horizontina, in southern Brazil.
Her route into modelling was not initially part of an elaborate plan. She was discovered as a teenager and began working professionally before moving to New York and establishing herself internationally.
By the late 1990s, Bündchen had become one of fashion’s most in-demand new models. Her career expanded rapidly through runway appearances, advertising campaigns and magazine covers.
She became particularly influential at a moment when the modelling industry was beginning to change. Bündchen’s athletic physique, long hair, distinctive runway walk and energetic presence created a recognisable commercial image that brands repeatedly wanted to use.
Her rise also coincided with the growing globalisation of celebrity culture. Models were no longer simply anonymous faces presenting clothes; the biggest names became celebrities in their own right.
Bündchen was one of the clearest examples of that transformation.
Her commercial success eventually became extraordinary. She repeatedly appeared among the world’s highest-paid models, and her influence extended beyond the catwalk into advertising, publishing, beauty and lifestyle.
Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady: a defining relationship
For more than a decade, Bündchen was also one half of one of the most famous celebrity couples in the world.
She married Tom Brady in 2009 after the pair began dating in the late 2000s. Brady was already becoming one of the defining figures in American football, while Bündchen was one of fashion’s most commercially successful models.
Together they became a powerful combination of sport, fashion and celebrity culture.
The couple had two children, Benjamin and Vivian. Bündchen also became stepmother to Brady’s older son, John Edward Thomas Moynahan, from his previous relationship with actress Bridget Moynahan.
Their marriage ended in 2022, with the divorce finalised in October of that year.
The end of the marriage generated enormous media attention, but Bündchen has subsequently focused much more strongly on building an independent life. Her current marriage to Valente represents a distinctly different chapter from her years with Brady.
Rather than remaining defined by her former marriage, Bündchen has increasingly discussed her own wellbeing, parenting and professional choices.
Her approach to health and wellness
Health has long been part of Bündchen’s public image, but her current approach is broader than simply maintaining the physique associated with modelling.
She has incorporated yoga, Pilates, jiu-jitsu and strength training into her routine. In her recent i-D interview, she explained that she works out every day because she views exercise as something she gets to do rather than an obligation. She described a routine involving weights several times a week alongside Pilates and yoga.
That philosophy fits with the wider direction of her life.
Bündchen has increasingly presented wellness as a question of balance rather than appearance. Food, movement, time outdoors and family are all part of the lifestyle she now promotes.
Her interest in wellbeing has also extended into publishing. Her book Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life explored personal experiences and the principles she developed during her career, while her later cookbook Nourish focused on food and healthy living.
Readers interested in her approach to wellbeing can also explore British Vogue’s 2026 interview with Gisele Bündchen, which looks at her career, exercise and changing priorities.
Gisele Bündchen’s environmental work
Bündchen’s public identity has never been limited to modelling.
Environmental causes have been a significant part of her work, particularly issues involving Brazil and the Amazon. She has supported conservation initiatives and previously served as a United Nations Environment Programme Goodwill Ambassador.
Her environmental interests are closely connected to the more grounded lifestyle she has increasingly promoted. She has spoken about the importance of nature, reducing waste and maintaining a healthier relationship with consumption.
This aspect of her career is sometimes overshadowed by her modelling and celebrity relationships, but it has been a consistent part of her public work.
It also helps explain why Bündchen’s post-runway career has not simply been about accepting fewer fashion jobs. She has gradually moved towards projects that reflect her wider interests.
Is Gisele Bündchen still modelling?
Yes. Although Bündchen retired from regular runway work in 2015, she did not retire completely from fashion.
Her career today is far more selective. She continues to appear in major campaigns, fashion editorials and magazine covers when a project fits her schedule and priorities.
In 2026, she appeared on the cover of W magazine and remained involved with brands including Marc O’Polo. She has also worked as a global ambassador for Garnier.
Her latest i-D cover is particularly notable because it connects her current identity as a mother with the fashion world that made her famous. The shoot presents Bündchen as an established woman at a different stage of life rather than attempting to recreate the image of the young supermodel who dominated fashion two decades ago.
That distinction is important to understanding her career today.
What does success mean to Gisele Bündchen now?
Perhaps the clearest theme running through Bündchen’s recent interviews is that she has changed her definition of success.
During the height of her modelling career, success could be measured through magazine covers, campaigns, financial earnings, fame and professional demand. Today, those things appear to have much less influence over her decisions.
She has said that success can instead mean having time with one’s children, a home, food on the table, meaningful relationships and the ability to enjoy everyday life.
That is a striking perspective from someone who once represented the glamour and commercial power of the international fashion industry.
Bündchen is not rejecting the career that made her famous. She is choosing to place it in proportion.
At this stage, the headline is no longer simply that Gisele Bündchen is one of the world’s most successful models. It is that she has reached a point where she can decide what success means on her own terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Gisele Bündchen?
Gisele Bündchen was born on 20 July 1980. She is 46 years old in 2026.
Is Gisele Bündchen married?
Yes. Gisele Bündchen married Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor Joaquim Valente in a private ceremony in Florida in December 2025.
How many children does Gisele Bündchen have?
Bündchen has three children. She shares Benjamin and Vivian with former husband Tom Brady and has a younger son with Joaquim Valente.
Who is Gisele Bündchen’s husband?
Her husband is Joaquim Valente, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor. The couple married privately in December 2025.
Is Gisele Bündchen still a model?
Yes. Although she stopped regular runway modelling in 2015, she continues to accept selected fashion campaigns, editorial shoots and ambassadorial roles.
Why does Gisele Bündchen turn down so much work?
Bündchen has said she now prioritises her children and family life over most professional opportunities. In her September 2026 interview with i-D, she said she turns down about 99 per cent of the jobs offered to her because she does not want work to make her miss important moments with her children.
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