HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Gisele Bündchen is opening up about her secret February wedding, admitting that she feels lucky to have found the perfect man.
"He's got a pure heart. That's all that matters—he's got the purest heart," the 28-year-old supermodel says of husband Tom Brady in an interview with Vanity Fair. "I feel grateful because I have a lot of love in my life. I found the person I’m sharing my life with. I have a good man."
Bündchen says it was love at first sight when she first met the football star towards the end of 2006.
"I knew right way—the first time I saw him," she says. "We met through a friend. The moment I saw him, he smiled and I was like, That is the most beautiful, charismatic smile I've ever seen! We sat and talked for three hours. I had to go home for Christmas, but I didn't want to leave. You know that feeling of, like, you can't get enough? From the first day we met, we've never spent one day without speaking to each other."
While she immediately experienced bliss, Bündchen says their relationship wasn't always dreamy. Shortly after they started dating, Brady's ex, model-actress Bridget Moynahan, discovered she was pregnant with the New England Patriot star's baby.
"It was definitely a surprise for both of us," Bündchen tells the mag. "In the beginning you're living this romantic fantasy; you're thinking, This can't be true, it's so good! And then, Whoops—wake-up call!"
Bündchen says the challenging ordeal happened just 2½ months into her relationship with Brady, but it eventually made the couple stronger.
"I think it was a blessing, because otherwise I don’t think I would have known what he was made of, and he wouldn't have known what I was made of," she explains. "I wouldn't have seen the integrity in him—the way he was a good person through all the times. I was like, You have the heart in a good place! It made me feel more in love with him; it made me realize who he was. Our relationship has become so much stronger, and I think I wouldn't be as certain as I am today if it weren’t for that."
Moynahan gave birth to Brady's son, John Edward Thomas, in October 2007 and the Brazilian beauty says she feels "blessed to have him in my life."
"I understand that he has a mom, and I respect that, but to me it's not like because somebody else delivered him, that's not my child. I feel it is, 100 percent," says Bündchen, who admits she has never met Moynahan. "I want him to have a great relationship with his mom, because that's important, but I love him the same way as if he were mine. I already feel like he's my son, from the first day."
As for starting her own family, the cover girl is looking forward to having a crowded house.
"I would like a big family," says Bündchen, who is one of six sisters. "I love children. When you come from a big family, you see that growing up you're learning how to share. Your sisters have got your back; you're not alone in this—'We all support you!' Your family provides that; it gives you a sense of safety, and it's a very grounding feeling."
"This is why you get married—you want to create those roots together; you want to give that to your kids," she adds. "I would also love to adopt a child from Brazil. When you come from São Paulo, you see five-year-olds sniffing glue on the corner. You think, If you make a difference in the life of one of them, that makes your time on this earth worthwhile. I will have a colorful family, like a rainbow. I have dogs from rescue; they are all my dogs. Children are like little angels—there's no way you can't love them."
