Gisele Bündchen is still flexing at 46. The supermodel ex-wife of Tom Brady covers i-D magazine’s “Mother Issue,” where she clutches a barbell as she hits bicep curls and an overhead press in a lacy bodysuit.
She isn’t fronting for a pretty picture, either. As she told i-D‘s editor-in-chief Steff Yotka in the accompanying interview, “I do weights three times a week. I do Pilates once or twice a week. I do yoga two or three times a week. I work out every day because, for me, working out—I don’t see it as something I have to do. I see it as something I get to do. It doesn’t matter if I’m surfing, if I’m playing volleyball with my daughter, if I’m paddleboarding. Whatever it is, I feel like it’s a moment of being.”
While Bündchen has remained an in-demand talent—she recently served as the face of a Marc O’Polo campaign lensed by renowned photographer Lachlan Bailey—she analyzes all job offers judiciously to ensure they don’t interfere with family time.
“I say no to 99 percent of the jobs I’m offered because, when I put it on the scale, I’m like, ‘Am I going to miss my daughter’s volleyball game? Am I going to miss going to the park with my son? Am I going to miss my son DJing?’”
Granted, Bündchen was ranked as the world’s highest-paid model by Forbes for 12 years in a row, from 2005 to 2016, so she likely doesn’t need to work again. Now, as she’s slowed down in her professional life, she’s become reflective.
“What is success? Some people say success is power, money, fame, more,” she told the mag. “Some people say success is being able to spend time with your kids, to have food on your table, to have a home to live in, to have great relationships and actually enjoy every day. It’s up to each person to define, because when I was in my 20s, success was different than what I feel today.”
Head to i-D‘s website to read the full story.