It was quite an international affair this weekend. A day before Tom Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to victory at the Allianz Arena in the NFL’s first regular season game in Germany, his ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen, was grabbing a bite to eat with jiu-jitsu instructor Joaquim Valente. In photos obtained by Page Six, Gisele, 42, and Joaquim grabbed a bite to eat at Koji, a restaurant in Costa Rica’s Provincia de Puntarenas providence. Gisele and Tom’s two kids, Benjamin, 12, and Vivienne, 9, joined their mother for dinner.
In the photos, Gisele wore a pair of flowing black pants, a grey cropped shirt that showed off her flat stomach, and a simple purse she slung across her shoulder. Joaquim dressed for the environment, opting for a jungle-green pair of shorts, a gray-green t-shirt, and slides. Gisele’s children were similarly dressed.
It’s unclear when this prospective romance between Joaquim and Gisele began, but Page Six noted that she did a shoot for a photo shoot for Dust magazine with his brothers, Pedro Valente and Giu Valente, in 2021. It’s also possible that Gisele and Joaquim met up in South Beach. A LinkedIn page attributed to him lists Joaquim as a “Professor at Valente Brothers Jiu-Jitsu” in Miami Beach, Florida.
Tom, 45, and Gisele announced their split on Oct. 28. “In recent days, my wife and I finalized our divorce from one another after 13 years of marriage,” Tom wrote in a post published to his Instagram Story. “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.”
The statement from Tom came shortly after reports claimed Gisele planned to file the divorce papers. The two had been on the rocks for months, seemingly from Tom’s decision to un-retire from football. She later explained in Elle’s October 2022 issue that she wanted her then-husband “to be more present” in her and her children’s lives.
Despite the end of their love, Tom and Gisele seem to be on good terms. She reportedly purchased an $11.5 million mansion across from her former home with Tom, meaning she will be a short walk away whenever the kids want to visit.