Tom Brady Opens Up About The Lessons He's Learning From Daughter Vivian Amid Difficult Divorce

2022 hasn't shaped up to be the year that Tom Brady anticipated. Following a failed Super Bowl bid in January, the star quarterback announced his retirement in February — only to change his mind and retake the field for a 23rd season. However, the narrative surrounding Gisele Bündchen and Brady's marriage has always been that she wanted him to spend more time with family, while football took a front seat for Brady. This was seemingly solidified when the couple confirmed their divorce in October.

For Brady, divorce was never in the cards. A source close to the seven-time Super Bowl champ told People that he did everything in his power to keep the marriage together. According to the insider, Brady "wanted to do whatever he needed to do to fix things," including therapy and counseling. But it was evidently too late for his supermodel wife, whom the source said "gave him a lot of opportunities to fix things, and he didn't."

In the wake of the split, Brady is having a tough time on the football field as well. On November 6, he snapped a three-game losing streak (his first since 2002) with a victory over the Los Angeles Rams. He's also spoken about his efforts to maintain a positive mindset, telling his "Let's Go" podcast co-host Jim Gray that he's "doing the best job I can to win football games." But Brady's inspiration to keep his chin up comes from an unlikely source: his daughter, Vivian.

Amid his tough football season, Tom Brady has been criticized for displaying a sub-par attitude. In September, he angrily spiked a tablet when his team was down against the New Orleans Saints. His offensive line has borne the brunt of his frustration and Twitter has relentlessly trolled the GOAT over his reluctance to retire. But if there's one critic Brady listens to more than others, it's his daughter, Vivian Brady. "My daughter always says, 'Daddy, you did not have a happy face out there,'" Brady joked on the "Let's Go" podcast. "And I'm trying! I wish I would have more awareness of what the scowl looks like, but I'm doing my best to try to get to a better place and better peace of mind out there." Thankfully, Vivian had a happier reaction to her dad's win against the Los Angeles Rams. "She was very excited," Brady said. "She is my number one cheerleader, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

In the wake of his split from Gisele Bündchen, Brady has maintained that his children are his number one priority. In a separate episode of the "Let's Go" podcast, he shared that he is laser-focused on "taking care of my family and certainly my children." He added, "I want to be a great father." It's nice to see the bond that Brady shares with Vivian — clearly, his little girl is a staple on the sidelines.