Gisele: I’M NO CHEATER

The supermodel finally breaks her silence about her romance with her hunky jiujitsu instructor

Gisele Bündchen and her jiujitsu instructor, Joaquim Valente, first sparked romance rumors in November 2022, when they were spotted strolling along the beach in Provincia de Puntarenas, on Costa Rica’s coast. Two weeks earlier, her divorce from Tom Brady, 46, had been finalized. “It all happened so quickly — Tom was out and Joaquim was in — and some wondered if Gisele and Joaquim were involved while she was still married to Tom,” says a source. “In other words, did Gisele cheat?”

The answer is no, insists the supermodel, 43, who is finally setting the record straight about her relationship with Joaquim, 34. The cheating rumors were “a lie,” says Gisele. “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.”

A STRONG FOUNDATION

Gisele and Joaquim first made headlines in February 2022, when she shared a video of her session at his academy in Florida and thanked him and his brothers for being “awesome teachers.” But their relationship was strictly platonic at that point. “This is the first time I am seeing someone who was a friend of mine first,” she confides.

While Gisele doesn’t pinpoint when the romance did begin, reportedly the two started dating in June 2023, months after Tom — to whom she was married for 13 years — was out of the picture. She calls her split from Tom “heartbreaking,” but says she has no regrets. “I think sometimes in life things happen. I feel so blessed because, like, I wouldn’t change anything in my life. I had incredible experiences. I learned so much. I have my children, who are the biggest blessings in my life.”

And now, she adds, “it’s a new season, a new chapter in my life, and I get to learn new things, and I get to walk my path in a different way, you know?” ◼