Tom Brady’s recent comments about one of the “biggest challenges” he and his wife Gisele Bündchen face as parents have divided the internet.
The NFL star revealed during the latest episode of Spotify’s DRIVE podcast that making sure his children recognise the privileges they share is the hardest thing about raising their children.
“We have people that clean for us. We have people that make our food. We have people that drive us to the airport if we need that… we get off a plane and there’s people waiting there for us and we get ushered in,” he said.
“That’s my kids’ reality which is the hard part to say, ‘guys, this is not the way reality really is’... what can we do about that?”
Brady’s comments received some backlash from fans on social media, while others defended the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback.
“My condolences,” said sports radio host Mike Asti.
“Yeah, it must be tough,” another person sarcastically tweeted.
“I am willing to take this immense financial burden off your shoulders Tom Brady,” said someone else.
Meanwhile, some people sympathised with Brady’s comments in that he is only trying to teach his children to be grateful for the things they have.
“I get why people can easily criticise, but the point he’s making is that it’s difficult to have his children understand their privilege,” said Reddit user u/d0ngl0rd69. “So, the fact he’s cognizant of it and trying to do something about it is better than most in his position.
“Tom Brady trying to humble his children is good. They will grow up realizing that everything they have is a privilege,” said Redditor u/keetboy.
“The bad thing is many parents cannot afford to take care of their children but many do the best they can,” they added. “Brady means well but his problems are one many wish they could have.”
The 44-year-old athlete shares two children with Bündchen – Benjamin Rein, 12, and Vivian Lake, nine. He is also a father to 14-year-old son John “Jack” Edward, who he shares with his ex-partner, Bridget Moynahan.
During the podcast, Brady also said that he worked to keep his children grounded despite their privileges, adding, “I think we can try to create experiences that are more along the lines of what most kids go through even though they will still have experiences that a lot of kids never do have.”
