Tom Brady 'Didn't Want' to Divorce Gisele Bündchen, Says Source: 'This Was Not Tom's Idea'

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Before Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen finalized their divorce on Friday, the superstar quarterback was prepared to do "whatever it took to make things work," a source a close to Brady tells PEOPLE.

"This was not Tom's idea," says the insider of the couple's decision to divorce. "This was never Tom's idea."

Brady, 45, "wanted to do whatever he needed to do to fix things" with Bündchen, 42 because he "didn't want the divorce and he didn't want the marriage to end."

The source says that Brady was "willing to go to therapy, marriage counseling — whatever it took to make things work."

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) takes his helmet off and looks towards the sidelines during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers-New Orleans Saints regular season game on September 18, 2022 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, LA.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) takes his helmet off and looks towards the sidelines during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers-New Orleans Saints regular season game on September 18, 2022 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, LA.

Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty

RELATED: Gisele Bündchen Is Fine After Tom Brady Divorce, Says Source: 'She Has Lived Her Own Life for Years'

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback reportedly "didn't want the kids to have divorced parents; he wanted to work this out."

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) leaves the field looking disappointed after the game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA on October 16, 2022.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) leaves the field looking disappointed after the game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA on October 16, 2022.

Shelley Lipton/Icon Sportswire via Getty

The source says that "near the end" of their marriage, Brady "was trying to make things work, and to make things right."

For more on Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.

But Bündchen felt that "it was a little bit too little, too late," the source says. "She gave him a lot of opportunities to fix things, and he didn't."

ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 03: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots kisses his wife Gisele Bündchen after the Super Bowl LIII against the Los Angeles Rams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 3, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. The New England Patriots defeat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 03: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots kisses his wife Gisele Bündchen after the Super Bowl LIII against the Los Angeles Rams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 3, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. The New England Patriots defeat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Kevin C. Cox/Getty

RELATED: Tom Brady Takes His Kids to the Movies Hours After He and Gisele Bündchen Finalized Divorce

Brady was "busy following his passion" during their 13-year marriage, which the source says "is good" for him, but it ultimately left the model feeling that "he wasn't hearing what she was saying."

And now, after 13 years of marriage, the pair are both legally single. Per a three-page legal document obtained by PEOPLE, Bündchen filed the petition for the dissolution of marriage and it was finalized Oct. 28 in Glades County, Florida.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The paperwork officially declares the marriage as dissolved, and "irretrievably broken."

A source told PEOPLE that the former couple "agreed to joint custody of the kids," and Brady will remain in Tampa while Bündchen will live about four hours away in Miami, where he also has a residence.