Gisele Bündchen opens up about becoming a mother again at 44, her family life with Joaquim Valente and how motherhood changed her view of success.
Gisele Bündchen is opening up about one of the most personal chapters of her life, offering a rare glimpse into motherhood in her forties and explaining why welcoming another child has given her a new perspective on success, family and life.
The Brazilian supermodel, who is now 46, welcomed her third child, a baby boy, with her husband, Joaquim Valente, when she was 44.
In a new interview with i-D magazine for its Mother Issue, Bündchen described becoming a mother again at this stage of her life as a meaningful and unexpected gift.
“Having a baby at this moment of my life is such a gift, because I’m in a different place,” Bündchen said, reflecting on how her priorities have changed over the years.
The former Victoria’s Secret Angel also made it clear that she no longer feels pressure to prove herself or live according to expectations placed on her by others.
“I don’t have anything to prove. I don’t feel like I really, quite frankly, care,” she said.
Bündchen explained that she has reached a point where outside opinions have far less influence over the choices she makes.
Instead, she believes she has the freedom to decide what kind of life she wants for herself and her family.
“I’m not defined by other people’s opinions,” the model said, adding that she feels she can choose how she wants to live her life.
Gisele Bündchen Says Family Comes First
The model, who also shares two children with her former husband Tom Brady, said her approach to work has changed significantly since becoming a mother.
Bündchen is the mother of son Benjamin, 16, and daughter Vivian, 13, whom she shares with Brady, as well as her youngest son with Valente.
With three children now at different stages of childhood, she said family commitments play a major role in deciding which professional opportunities she accepts.
According to Bündchen, she turns down the vast majority of jobs offered to her because she wants to be present for important moments in her children’s lives.
“When I put it on the scale, I’m like, ‘Am I going to miss my daughter’s volleyball game? Am I going to miss going to the park with my son? Am I going to miss my son DJing?’” she explained.
Her comments offer an insight into how different her priorities are today compared with the early stages of her modeling career.
Bündchen also reflected on how dramatically her understanding of success has evolved since she was in her twenties.
The Supermodel’s Definition of Success Has Changed
For Bündchen, success is no longer simply connected to fame, money, influence or professional achievements.
“This is your temple, this is your life, this is your journey. How do you want it to look? What do you want it to be? Who defines success? What is success?” she said.
The model acknowledged that people can have very different ideas about what it means to be successful.
While some may associate success with financial security, fame and power, she now places greater value on family, relationships and everyday experiences.
“Some people say success is power, money, fame, more,” Bündchen explained. “
Some people say success is being able to spend time with your kids, to have food on your table, to have a home to live in, to have great relationships and actually enjoy every day.”
She added that she considers those experiences to be a meaningful form of success and acknowledged that her own definition has changed considerably since she was younger.
“When I was in my 20s, success was different than what I feel today,” she said.
Gisele Shares Sweet Moment With Youngest Son
Bündchen also offered a glimpse into her relationship with her youngest child, whose name has not been publicly revealed.
She described her son as funny and recalled a sweet moment they shared during a trip to the park.
According to the model, her 16-month-old son noticed her cleaning the park and wanted to join in.
“I mean, he’s 16 months and he saw that I was cleaning the park — because Miami, it’s so damp all the time! — and he wanted to participate and he felt really good about it,” she recalled.
The story reflects the kind of everyday family moments that Bündchen has increasingly highlighted on social media.
In recent months, the model has occasionally shared glimpses of her life as a mother of three, although she has generally kept her youngest child away from the spotlight.
Bündchen Gives Rare Glimpses of Life With Joaquim Valente
Bündchen has also offered fans occasional looks at her relationship with Valente.
Last month, she shared a rare photograph of Valente and their young son wearing matching jiu-jitsu uniforms.
The image showed the father and son enjoying time together on training mats, with the toddler sitting on his father’s chest.
The post was shared as part of a Father’s Day tribute in Portuguese, with Bündchen writing a message celebrating Valente and their family.
She has also previously shared moments showing her youngest child accompanying her during workouts, including a family moment aboard a yacht.
Bündchen welcomed her first child with Valente in early 2025. The couple privately married in December 2025 after dating for nearly two years.
Their relationship began after they first crossed paths in December 2021. At the time, Bündchen and her children began training at Valente’s jiu-jitsu academy.
Their romance was eventually confirmed publicly in 2024.
Bündchen later described the relationship as different from her previous experiences because Valente had first been a friend.
“This is the first time I am seeing someone that was a friend of mine first,” she previously said.
“It’s very different. It is very honest, and it’s very transparent.”
The couple has since maintained a relatively private family life despite Bündchen’s global fame.
A New Chapter After Tom Brady Split
Bündchen’s relationship with Valente comes after her highly publicized marriage to NFL legend Tom Brady ended.
The former couple finalized their split in 2022 after more than a decade together.
Since then, both have moved forward with their personal lives while continuing to co-parent their two children, Benjamin and Vivian.
Bündchen has increasingly focused her public image on wellness, family and her life away from the runway.
Her latest comments suggest that motherhood has become one of the most important parts of that new chapter.
She has also used social media to reflect on the responsibility that comes with raising children.
In a recent post, the model discussed how children learn by watching the adults around them and emphasized that parents’ actions can have a lasting impact.
“It’s so sweet to see how little they are when they start watching and emulating what we do,” she wrote.
Bündchen added that moments like these remind her that her actions can matter more than her words because children learn from the examples they see every day.
“What a gift and a beautiful responsibility it is to be a mom,” she concluded.
Now, as she balances motherhood, marriage and her career, Bündchen appears to be embracing a different definition of success — one centered less on professional recognition and more on being present for the people closest to her.