Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen reportedly have been living separately for the past few months and now rumors are that they have hired attorneys possibly signaling an end to their marriage.
Brady and Bündchen together have two children — Benjamin, age 14, and Vivian, age 9 — as well as a 15-year-old son, Jack, from his previous relationship with actress Bridget Moynihan.
Reports this offseason suggested that Bündchen was upset with Brady’s decision to return for a 23rd NFL season after announcing his retirement in early February.
“It’s pretty obvious that he’s hurting,” says a source close to Brady. “He feels very hurt by her.”
“She is the one steering the divorce,” the first source says. “She is playing offense and he is playing defense. He wants to protect himself, protect his interests, but he’s only starting to go the legal route in his defense from her. He doesn’t want this to be ugly, he doesn’t want to fight. If the divorce is happening — and it seems like it is — he wants it to go as smoothly as possible.”
“Think about it: Tom has had a very charmed life,” says the source. “Things always seem to go his way. He works hard, he’s a good guy, he hasn’t had a lot of things go wrong in his life. This is awful for him. You can tell that this really, really hurts.”
Another source explained: “During the season, they live separate lives.” Sources had previously told PEOPLE that Brady’s decision to un-retire has been a sticking point for the supermodel, who has said that she wants him to be more present with their kids.