Tom Brady posted a cryptic message about friendship, success and life mere hours after the release of his ex-wife Gisele Bündchen’s tell-all Vanity Fair cover story.
The former NFL quarterback seemed to hit back at Bündchen’s interview comments, where she dove in to set the record straight on her dating life, her feelings for Brady and a slew of other personal topics. Brady’s own message was based on a quote from famed essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson, and it mainly addressed the definition of “success.”
“What is success? To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends,” the message begins. Brady posted a screenshot of the quote to his Instagram Stories on Thursday morning.
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Brady’s unexpected nod to Emerson’s philosophy on success continued.
“To appreciate the beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition,” the quote reads. “To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!”
Brady emphasized the message by adding three red emoji hearts to the top of the screenshot.
It remains unclear if Brady was jilted by the interview as a whole, or if he was put off by a certain aspect of Bündchen’s candid confessions.
The supermodel used the platform to convey her version of the couple’s divorce and to stomp out various rumors that surfaced along the way. Bündchen confirmed she did not give Brady an ultimatum to quit football or end their marriage, and emphasized her desire to see him happy even though they now live apart. (RELATED: Gisele Bündchen Works A Stripper Pole In A Racy New Ad)
“If there’s one person I want to be the happiest in the world, it’s him, believe me,” she told Vanity Fair. “I want him to achieve and to conquer.”