NEED TO KNOW
- Gisele Bündchen shared a sweet birthday message for her boyfriend Joaquim Valente’s birthday
- Her message included a snap of their baby, whom they welcomed in February
- The couple started dating in 2023 after meeting at a jiu-jitsu class
Gisele Bündchen is celebrating her boyfriend Joaquim Valente’s birthday.
In an Instagram Stories post shared on Friday, Nov. 7, the model, 45, wrote in Portuguese, “Feliz aniversário @joaquimvalente! Te amo!” The Instagram Stories photo showed Bündchen walking along a beach with Valente, 38, and their baby at sunset.
The birthday wish comes shortly after the model shared another rare glimpse into their private relationship. In October, she posted a compilation of videos of her doing various workouts, including practicing jiu-jitsu with Valente, who is an instructor. The clips also show Bündchen doing yoga, dancing, cycling and surfing.
“If there’s one thing I’d recommend to everyone, it’s this: move your body. Your body is your home — and it was made to move,” she captioned the Instagram post.
The pair started dating in June 2023, and later welcomed their first child together in February. Bündchen is also mom to daughter Vivian, 12, and son Benjamin, 15, whom she shares with ex-husband Tom Brady, 48.
“They’re taking it slow,” an insider told PEOPLE in February 2024. “They started out as great friends. She’s very private about this and wanted to keep it quiet while they got to know each other.”
A separate source added: “They come from similar backgrounds. They both left Brazil very young. Gisele’s in a great space. Joaquim is perfect for her.”
The couple initially sparked romance rumors in February 2022 when Bündchen shared a video of her session at his academy in Florida, paired with a caption that thanked Valente and his brothers for being “awesome teachers.”
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Valente is a third-generation practicer of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and currently teaches the martial arts form at a Miami-based academy alongside his brothers Pedro and Gui.
Bündchen credited her preteen son’s interest in martial arts for introducing her to Joaquim.
During an interview with Dust Magazine, Gisele revealed that she wasn’t personally interesting in jiu-jitsu at first. “Initially, I wasn’t even considering it for myself,” she began. “But when I brought [her son] to the first class and started talking to Joaquim, I realized that it was much more than self defense.”
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