Tom Brady: “‘Girl version’ of Tom Brady”: SI veteran breaks silence on how 7x Super Bowl champ was set as much as “catch” Gisele Bündchen

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen’s love story reportedly began with an unusual pitch from a Victoria’s Secret executive.

Former Sports Illustrated journalist Lars Anderson detailed the unusual introduction in his new biography, Brady: An American Story and the Price of Greatness.

According to Anderson, Ed Razek, who was then Victoria’s Secret’s chief marketing officer, told Brady in December 2006 that he had found his “girl version.” Razek also contacted Bündchen and described Brady as her “boy version.”

The introduction came shortly after Brady’s split from “Sex and the City” star Bridget Moynahan and around the time Bündchen’s relationship with actor Leonardo DiCaprio had ended.

Brady and Bündchen soon began dating.

The couple went on their first date in 2006 at Turks & Frogs, a wine bar in New York City’s West Village. Anderson gave a detailed description of the meeting in his book, including the couple’s appearance and their conversation.

The author described Bündchen’s eyes as “the mossy green of a primeval forest” and Brady’s as “the glacial blue of a winter sky.”

Brady also told Bündchen that he planned to play football for another 10 years and would be happy if he won just one more Super Bowl.

Despite finding it “boring,” Bündchen attended her first football game in January 2007 when Brady’s New England Patriots faced the San Diego Chargers in the playoffs.

In February 2007, the couple traveled to France together.

During that trip, Brady learned from Moynahan that she was pregnant with his child.

Anderson cited an obstetrics nurse’s estimate to support Brady’s claim that his relationship with Moynahan had ended before he met Bündchen.

Tom Brady’s eldest son, John “Jack” Edward Thomas Moynahan, was born Aug. 22, 2007.

Bündchen later opened up about learning about Moynahan’s pregnancy in her 2018 memoir, Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life.

“The news was everywhere, and I felt my world had been turned upside down,” she wrote. “Needless to say, that wasn’t an easy time.”

Bündchen described Jack as a “huge gift and blessing” in her memoir. She also called him her “bonus child” and wrote that his birth made her “heart expand in ways I didn’t know was possible.”

Tom Brady and Bündchen married in a small ceremony in Santa Monica in February 2009. The couple later renewed their vows in Costa Rica.

They had two children together before ending their marriage in divorce in October 2022.

The biography was reviewed by New Yorker writer Jennifer Wilson on Sept. 21. She labeled Bündchen as Brady’s “ultimate catch.”

Speaking about the matchmaker, Bündchen had a long professional relationship with Victoria’s Secret executives during her modeling career. In her 2018 memoir, she reflected on her time with the brand and explained why she decided to leave in 2007.

At the time of her departure, Bündchen and Razek released statements thanking each other for their “long and fruitful relationship.”

Bündchen parted ways with Victoria’s Secret in May 2007, following her final runway appearance at the 2006 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

Gisele Bündchen gushed over Tom Brady 8 months before divorce announcement

Eight months before Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen announced their divorce, Bündchen publicly praised her then-husband and his NFL career.

In February 2022, after Brady announced his initial retirement from the NFL, Bündchen shared a heartfelt tribute to the seven-time Super Bowl champion on X.

Bündchen looked back on their relationship and said she knew very little about football when they first met more than 15 years earlier. However, watching Brady play helped her become a fan of the sport.

She also recalled how their family supported Brady throughout his career. She said they prayed for him before games, celebrated his wins and shared his disappointment after losses.

Bündchen said she was proud of everything Tom Brady had achieved and the physical and emotional challenges he had faced during his career. She also praised his dedication, focus and mental toughness.

The supermodel added that she was excited to see what Brady would do in the next chapter of his life. She said watching him work toward his goals outside football was inspiring and that she believed there was nothing he could not achieve.

However, Tom Brady’s retirement did not last long.

Just 40 days after announcing his decision to retire, Brady revealed in March 2022 that he would return to the NFL for another season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.