Who is Gisele Bundshen’s boyfriend Joaquim Valente and when is she expecting a child with the jiu jitsu instructor?
Date: 2024-10-29GISELE Bündchen revealed that she is expecting her first child with her boyfriend Joaquim Valente.
The model has been dating the jiu-jitsu instructor since June last year after the breakdown of her marriage with quarterback Tom Brady.
This will be her third child and Joaquim’s first – but who exactly is Joaquim and how did the pair meet?
Joaquim, 37, and Gisele first met in December 2021 when she hired him to teach her son the martial art.
Taken by the non-violent training and perhaps the teacher, she decided to take classes too.
By July the pair were more than just teacher and student, they were spotted in Costa Rica on holiday together with her two children.
“Initially, I wasn’t even considering it for myself. But when I brought [her son Ben] to the first class and started talking to Joaquim, I realized that it was much more than self defense,” she told Dust Magazine.
She explained that she fell in love with jiu-jitsu : “It felt very much in line with what I believe in and look for in my life, and how I have a path to develop and become the best version of myself.”
Who is Joaquim Valente?
Joaquim owns the Miami-based self-defence studio with his brothers Pedro and Gui.
The martial art runs in their blood, three generations of his family were trained in the sport.
Joaquim and his brothers were taught by their dad before they had even started walking.
By the time they were two, he and his brothers were then trained by Grandmaster H̩lio Gracie Рwho created Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
But Gisele’s beau isn’t just a one-trick pony, he also has a degree in criminology from Barry University in Florida.
Gisele and Joaquim caused a stir when they were seen together in Costa Rica and the model initially denied that they were more than friends.
The holiday came just two weeks after her divorce from Tom was finalised.
The pair both have a lot in common, including them moving from their home country Brazil at a young age.
What happened with Gisele and Tom Brady?
The couple were together for 13 years and share Benjamin Rein Brady, 14 and Vivian, 11.
Speaking to Vanity Fair at the time, she said that the split was the “death of her dream”.
“It’s tough because you imagine your life was going to be a certain way, and you did everything you could, you know?” she said.
“I believed in fairy tales when I was a kid. I think it’s beautiful to believe in that. I mean, I’m so grateful I did.”
At the time she said that the reason for their split was because the pair had “grown apart”.
The couple met when she was 26 and he was 29, but the model said that as they got older their priorities changed.
There were rumours that they broke up over Tom’s refusal to retire from the NFL – which Gisele called “very hurtful”.
Gisele and Joaquim’s romance rumours
Gisele was accused of cheating on Tom, which she strongly denied when she was quizzed by The New York Times.
She said the rumours of her infidelity were “lies”.
“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,” she told the publication.
She added that she “doesn’t want to make her life a tabloid”.
Without naming Joaquim, she said: “‘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,” she added.
On Valentine’s Day this year the pair made it official after they were spotted kissing in Miami.
A source revealed to People that they had been “dating since June” and added that they were “taking it slow.”
When is Gisele due?
Gisele is about five to six months pregnant, according to TMZ.
It’s unclear when Bündchen’s due to give birth.
A source confirmed to People that the Brazilian fashion model, 44, and Valente, 35, are excited about the new chapter in their life.
“Gisele and Joaquim are happy for this new chapter in their life, and they’re looking forward to creating a peaceful and loving environment for the whole family,” the source told the magazine in a statement.
