Returning to her roots. Gisele Bündchen kicked off the holiday season with a trip to Brazil with son Benjamin, 13, and daughter Vivian, 10, by her side.
“It’s my Rio Grande do Sul Heaven, Sun, South, Earth and Color Where everything that is planted grows and what blooms the most is love,” the model, 42, captioned an Instagram post on Tuesday, December 27. “It’s always so good to come back home Always so good to be back home.”
In the social media upload, Bündchen included photos of the family horseback riding, meeting barnyard animals and spending quality time together. Earlier in the month, the former Victoria’s Secret Angel gushed about getting to take her children to see where she is from.
“Recharging with my little ones in the country of my !” she wrote via Instagram on December 18.
Meanwhile, Bündchen’s ex-husband, Tom Brady, raised eyebrows when he did not mention her in a Christmas Day shout-out. “Say hi to my parents, my sisters, my kids, love you all, hope you had a good time. Merry Christmas to everyone, see you soon,” the athlete, 45, said after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Arizona Cardinals in overtime on Sunday, December 25.
Earlier in the month, Brady opened up about celebrating Christmas on the football field.
“It’ll be a new experience that I’ve never had before that I’m gonna learn how to deal with. And I think that’s what life’s about. So you just asked a question about what have you learned from this football season? I’m gonna learn how to deal with Christmas Eve in a hotel, and I’m gonna have to learn how to deal with Christmas and Christmas night and still go out there and be a professional,” he said on his SiriusXM’s “Let’s Go! with Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray” podcast. “And then look forward to celebrating Christmas with my kids the day after. Which is, you know, just part of what football season has been for a long time. So it’s just, again, emotional aspects that allow us to thrive.”
Two months prior, the Buccaneers quarterback and Bündchen announced their divorce amid split speculation.
“In recent days, my wife and I finalized our divorce from one another after 13 years of marriage,” Brady wrote via his Instagram Story in October. “We arrived at this decision amicably and with gratitude for the time we spent together. We are blessed with beautiful and wonderful children who will continue to be the center of our world in every way. We will continue to work together as parents to always ensure they receive the love and attention they deserve.”
Bündchen, for her part, discussed the pair’s plans to coparent their children in her own statement, writing, “The decision to end a marriage is never easy but we have grown apart and while it is, of course, difficult to go through something like this, I feel blessed for the time we had together and only wish the best for Tom always.”
Before their split, the Brazil native opened up about the struggle of making sacrifices for the California native’s career.
“I’ve done my part, which is [to] be there for [Tom],” Bündchen told Elle in her October cover story, shortly before confirming their breakup. “I moved to Boston, and I focused on creating a cocoon and a loving environment for my children to grow up in and to be there supporting him and his dreams. Seeing my children succeed and become the beautiful little humans that they are, seeing him succeed, and being fulfilled in his career — it makes me happy. At this point in my life, I feel like I’ve done a good job on that.”
She added: “Obviously, I have my concerns [with him returning to football] — this is a very violent sport, and I have my children and I would like him to be more present. I have definitely had those conversations with him over and over again. But ultimately, I feel that everybody has to make a decision that works for [them]. He needs to follow his joy, too.”
Scroll down to see more of Bündchen’s getaway with her kids: