Are you keeping your eyes open to love? It really can find you anywhere. Take, for example, Gisele Bündchen and Joaquim Valente. The couple is currently expecting their first child together, and just a few years ago, he was simply her and her kids’ jujitsu instructor. Then, she and Tom Brady got a divorce, she started spending a lot of time with Valente at her home in Costa Rica, and now the 44-year-old supermodel is pregnant with her third kid. How exactly did we get here? Let’s take a look and remind ourselves that even in the wake of a major divorce, love might just be waiting for you at a martial-arts school in southern Florida.
Gisele and Tom got divorced
In October 2022, TMZ reported that Bündchen had filed for divorce from Brady after 13 years of marriage. In the filing, both parties called their marriage “irretrievably broken.” In a statement on her Instagram Story, Bündchen confirmed the news, writing, “My priority has always been and will continue to be our children whom I love with all my heart.”
In his own statement, Brady wrote that the decision to split was “painful and difficult,” but that “we wish only the best for each other as we pursue whatever new chapters in our lives that are yet to be written.” As it turns out, the next chapter of Bündchen’s life would prove to be very exciting.
Gisele and Joaquim popped out in Costa Rica
Two weeks after announcing her divorce, Bündchen was spotted hanging out with Valente in Costa Rica. The pair got dinner with Bündchen’s kids and another jujitsu instructor. It wasn’t a particularly sexy outing, but it caused enough conversation that a source had to clarify to People that they weren’t dating.
“He and his two brothers are Gisele and the kids’ martial arts teachers,” the source explained. “They are not dating.”
Bündchen and her kids had been taking martial-arts classes from the Valente brothers for a while before they all started hanging out. In February 2022, she posted a video of her and Joaquim sparring.
Gisele and Joaquim became inseparable
These two still weren’t officially “dating,” but they were definitely spending a lot of time together doing things other than jujitsu. In January 2023, they were in Costa Rica again, this time riding horses, but not in the romantic way. “Gisele adores and trusts [Joaquim] and has been spending a lot of time with him, but I don’t think it’s a traditional dating scenario,” a source told People. “They have a deep personal relationship, and he is a teacher to her and the kids. Whether or not it will ever become more than that rests on the table.”
In March, they were — you guessed it — back in Costa Rica. This time, they were papped taking a walk. The next week, Bündchen graced the cover of Vanity Fair, where she expertly maneuvered around saying if she and Valente were dating.
“I think, at this point, unfortunately, because I’m divorced, I’m sure that they’re going to try to attach me to anything,” Bündchen said, before singling out Joaquim as her favorite of the Valente brothers. “I’m so grateful to know all of them, because not only have they helped me and helped my kids, but they have become great friends, and Joaquim especially. He’s our teacher and, most importantly, he’s a person that I admire and that I trust. It’s so good to have that kind of energy, to have my kids around that type of energy.”
He picked her up from the airport
At this point, there was no denying that these two were together. By August 2023, Valente was picking Bündchen up from the airport in Miami, which as we all know is a task reserved for best friends and lovers. In this case, I actually think he is both.
Finally, some PDA
It took over a year, but we finally saw these two kiss. Granted, it was via the world’s grainiest black-and-white video, but a win is a win. The Daily Mail published the video in February 2024, in which you can sort of tell that they’re making out by Valente’s car before he heads home for the night. Romantic!
They confirmed what we already knew (and Tom added a wrinkle)
A few days after the video came out, People scored the exclusive confirmation that these two had been dating since June 2023. “They’re taking it slow. They started out as great friends first. She’s very private about this and wanted to keep it quiet while they got to know each other,” the source told the tabloid.
It seemed that Brady did not love hearing this news and, in fact, had some quibbles with their version of events. “They should add 2021 after June. Then the headline would be accurate,” one source “connected to Tom” told TMZ.
Gisele was busy “building a new season” post-divorce
The cheating rumors were particularly rude, because Bündchen was just about to embark on a press tour for her first cookbook. In addition to talking about how, according to her, you can cure your depression through diet, Bündchen now had to address the cheating allegations. She outright denied them to the New York Times, saying, “That is a lie.”
“This is something that happens to a lot of women who get blamed when they have the courage to leave an unhealthy relationship and are labeled as being unfaithful,” Bündchen told the paper. “They have to deal with their communities. They have to deal with their family. Of course for me, it just happens to be a little bit amplified.”
The model also told the Times that she was dating someone new, but didn’t name Valente. “This is the first time I am seeing someone that was a friend of mine first,” she said. “It’s very different. It is very honest, and it’s very transparent.”
Speaking to Robin Roberts on ABC News, Bündchen had bittersweet feelings about her divorce. “I don’t think you wish for that,” she said. “I feel so blessed. I had incredible experiences, I learned so much, I had my children … and now I get to create a new season.”
Couple’s first breakup rumors
Are you even a famous couple if the tabloids don’t incorrectly report that you’ve broken up? In June 2024, InTouch reported that Bündchen and Valente had split in the aftermath of the Tom Brady roast. Many a joke had been made at their expense, and, according to a few anonymous sources, that was enough to do them in. “The spotlight was too much for him,” a source told the tabloid. “Joaquim became part of the joke. People actually started asking him if he was the reason for their divorce. He hated that.”
Turns out that report held no water, as the couple were spotted paddleboarding with Bündchen’s kids just a few days later (on Father’s Day, no less).
Gisele is pregnant!
In October, a source confirmed to People that the couple was expecting. “Gisele and Joaquim are happy for this new chapter in their life and they’re looking forward to creating a peaceful and loving environment for the whole family,” the source told the tabloid. How exciting for them! I wonder what Tom Brady thinks about that … Oh, he’s posting the lyrics to “Landslide” on his Instagram Story? Well, I’ll just leave him be, then.