Report: The Stress of Getting Divorced Cost Tom Brady Cost 15 Pounds Over the Course of the Season

Kevin C. Cox. Getty Images.

This is obviously Tom Brady and Gisele in happier times. Perhaps the happiest of times. Together they took a major chance on him. Went over the wall of the oppressive, Dickensian work house he had spent 20 years serving time in. Uprooted their genetically perfect children and headed south. Gambling that Tom would bring his unprecedented level of success to the franchise with the worst winning percentage in the history of the NFL. And triumphed. Even with the league demanding strict adherence to their masking policy, nobody minded if these two ripped theirs off. Not only because it would've been a crime against the rest of the country to deny us their incredible bone structure and symmetrical, exquisite, ear-to-ear smiles, but because they seemed the very embodiment of good health. 

That dynamic continued all through 2021, even if the season didn't end in triumph. Then of course came Brady's retirement. His subsequent unretirement. The series of reports that there was trouble in their idyllic marriage, all of which were dead-on accurate. Then it became impossible not to notice the change. Not just that the couple were no longer together. But those smiles were gone. Followed by that perfect health. 

Brady's body changed before our very eyes as the 2022 season went on. And now comes a report that puts a number on it:

“When Brady sat quietly at his locker after an October 27 loss to the Ravens, marking his first three game losing streak in two decades. The truth of his pain would be revealed the following morning. Brady and his wife Gisele Bundchen announced the end of their marriage … There is no doubt the offense never clicked according to sources. The play calling became frustrating for many in the organization, but Brady also knows his own mental focus was gone through the season. His physical stature,15 pounds of weight loss, was also in peril.” - Jeff Darlington

Holy cats. Fifteen pounds in such a short period of time is insane. On a 6-foot-4, 225 pound man, that's almost 7% of his total body mass. That's the kind of weight drop you'd expect from someone who was bedridden with the flu or a major surgery, not a guy who's published a nutrition book and walks by an NFL training table three times a day. 

Still, according to the eyeball test, 15 pounds seems about right.

BEFORE (training camp in August):

Mike Ehrmann. Getty Images.

AFTER (playoff loss postgame in January):

Julio Aguilar. Getty Images.

The contrast is startling. The divorce was like legal diet pills. Court-issued Ozempic. A post-marital eating disorder. Divorcee bulimia. And it's just tremendously sad.

This clearly demonstrates just how hard this whole process has been on Brady. Not to go all Patch Adams on everybody, but there definitely is a direct connection between your emotional health and your physical health. Even with his 23rd NFL season hanging in the balance, he couldn't bring himself to eat right and keep his calorie count where it needed to be. As much as the man is dedicated to his craft and the fitness regiment that made him the best there has ever been, he loved his marriage too. And losing it took a physical toll. 

Some of us, in moments of tremendous sadness, seek comfort in food. We eat because we're unhappy, and we're unhappy because we eat:

For the GOAT, it was the opposite. I use the word sad yet again. But in a way, it's sort of beautiful. His body's testament to how much his family life meant to him. It's also remarkable he was able to play as well as he did in the midst of such sudden, physiological changes. And now it doesn't feel so implausible that he'll get the breakup behind him, get back to his normal fighting weight, start dating again, and come back in another market next year in peak condition. You'd be a fool to bet against it.