Tom Brady had fans in a frenzy after posting a cryptic Instagram story on Tuesday, a week after the news dropped that his ex-wife Gisele Bündchen was pregnant.
The football star posted a picture holding a plaque in his hand, inscribed with a Teddy Roosevelt quote all about failure and strength.
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better," the quote began.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming."
The quote continued to thank the man who "strive[s] to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
The cryptic message comes only a week after People broke the news of Gisele's pregnancy, making her a mother for the third time.
© InstagramShe shares Benjamin, 14, and Vivian, 11, with Tom; the pair were married for 13 years before calling it quits in October 2022.
Gisele has been with her boyfriend, Joaquim Valente, since June 2023, but they first met when he was her jiu-jitsu instructor.
The Victoria's Secret model addressed the rumors that she was dating the 37-year-old in an interview with Vanity Fair months before they became official.
© Variety"I think, at this point, unfortunately, because I'm divorced, I'm sure that they're going to try to attach me to anything…I'm so grateful to know all of [the Valente brothers] because not only have they helped me and helped my kids, but they have become great friends," she said.
She added: "Joaquim especially. He's our teacher and, most importantly, he's a person that I admire and that I trust. It's so good to have that kind of energy, to have my kids around that type of energy."
© MEGAGisele also spoke to the New York Times about her new beau, revealing, "This is the first time I am seeing someone that was a friend of mine first. It's very different. It is very honest, and it's very transparent."
Tom's emotional post was not the first indication of his feelings about Gisele's baby joy; hours after the news dropped on October 28, the 47-year-old posted a picture of a sunset to his Instagram stories, along with the lyrics to Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide".
© Maddie Meyer"Oh, mirror in the sky/ what is love? Can the child within my heart/ rise above? Can the child within my heart rise above?" were some of the lyrics included in his post.
Tom also shares his eldest son, 17-year-old Jack, with Blue Bloods actress Bridget Moynahan. The pair were in a relationship from 2004 to 2006.
