Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady are a power couple — and they are also excellent role models for setting healthy boundaries with technology within the context of your relationship. The supermodel, environmentalist, UN Goodwill Ambassador, and best-selling author married the New England Patriots quarterback in 2009 –– and today, the two are thriving in their own careers while nourishing their bond as a couple. When Bündchen joined Arianna Huffington on the Thrive Global Podcast, in partnership with iHeartRadio and Sleep Number, she explained their secrets for a successful relationship.
For starters, they focus on open communication, and in every aspect of their marriage, respect is key. “I think it’s important to honor each other for who we are, and to not try to change the other,” Bündchen tells Huffington. “It’s important to always keep the communication loving and respectful and current.” Even when she and her husband disagree, they face the issue head-on, instead of dwelling on the past or holding onto grudges. “If something happens right now, we address it, and then we let it go,” she explains.
Another crucial component of a successful marriage is being present, Bündchen explains. She and Brady have a strict “no phones in the bedroom” policy, which allows them to prioritize the time they have together –– a ritual she learned from growing up in Brazil’s family-oriented culture. “My parents would come back home from work, after we finished school, and we’d have lunch together,” she recalls. “To sit around the table and talk about what we experienced at school… It was really such a sacred time.”
Today, Bündchen implements the same practices and absence of screens in her own home, and feels strongly that her marriage with Brady depends on their face-to-face, undistracted connection. “I want to be having a conversation with my husband after I put the kids to bed,” she tells Huffington. “I don’t want to be sitting in bed with an electronic device. It can consume you.”
The final component of a successful relationship, according to Bündchen? Perspective. She explains that she constantly reminds herself that the quality of her relationships directly impacts the quality of her life –– and she allocates her time accordingly. “We don’t live alone,” she notes. “We have these relationships, and we’re constantly exchanging, and that’s what makes our life so rich.”
To find out more, listen to the full conversation on iHeartRadio, here. You can also listen to the Thrive Global podcast internationally for free on iTunes.
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