Gisele Bündchen has spoken about the “gift” of becoming a mother in her forties, saying she now feels less concerned with other people’s opinions and more focused on family life.
The Brazilian model, 46, welcomed her third child, a baby boy, with her husband Joaquim Valente, 38, at the age of 44. She described motherhood at this stage of her life as a profoundly different experience in an interview with i-D magazine’s Mother Issue.
“Having a baby at this moment of my life is such a gift, because I’m in a different place,” Bündchen said.
She added: “I don’t have anything to prove. I don’t feel like I really, quite frankly, care.”
The former Victoria’s Secret Angel said she no longer allowed public opinion to dictate her choices, telling the magazine: “I’m not defined by other people’s opinions. I feel like I get to choose how I want to live my life.”
Bündchen, who also shares son Benjamin, 16, and daughter Vivian, 13, with former husband Tom Brady, said she turned down the vast majority of work offered to her in order to be present for her children.
“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 said.
Her view of success has also changed since her twenties. Bündchen said she once associated it with “power, money, fame, more”, but now placed greater value on time with loved ones, stable family life and meaningful relationships.
“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 said. “I find that, quite frankly, much more successful.”
The model also offered a glimpse into life with her youngest child, whose name has not been publicly disclosed. She recalled how the 16-month-old wanted to help while she cleaned a damp park during a family outing in Miami.
“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 said.
Bündchen has shared occasional photographs of her family, including a recent image of Valente and their son wearing matching jiu-jitsu uniforms. Valente and Bündchen first met in December 2021, when she and her children began training at his academy.
The couple’s relationship was publicly confirmed in 2024. Bündchen later described Valente as someone who had been a friend first, saying their relationship was “very honest” and “very transparent”.
Reflecting on her role as a parent, she previously wrote that children learn by watching their parents, adding: “What a gift and a beautiful responsibility it is to be a mom.”
