Gisele Bündchen reveals why she doesn't like being called a 'stepmom'

Gisele Bündchen has revealed she doesn’t like the word “stepmom” while opening up about the joys of being part of a blended family.

On Thursday, the supermodel answered questions from fans during an Instagram question-and-answer.

In response to one question from a fan who asked how it feels “being a stepmom” to Tom Brady and his ex Bridget Moynahan’s 12-year-old son John “Jack” Edward Thomas, the 39-year-old said: “I don’t like the word ‘stepmom’.

“I like the word ‘bonus mom’ because I feel like it’s a blessing in my life. I feel so lucky that I got to have an extra wonderful little angel in my life.”

Bündchen and Brady, who got married in 2009, had just started dating when the NFL quarterback found out Moynahan was pregnant with his child.

Although Bündchen told People in September 2018 that it wasn’t an “ideal situation” at the time, she said she wouldn’t go back and change a thing.

“There’s no manual to prepare you for that,” Bündchen said. “But I’m so grateful for [Bridget]. I know this was hard, but I couldn’t imagine my life without [Jack]. I call him my bonus child.

“He opened my heart in ways I didn’t even know my heart could expand. I fell in love with him.”

During the Q&A, Bündchen also opened up how she and Brady, who are also parents to Benjamin Rein, 10, and daughter Vivian Lake, seven, manage family time despite being “so busy”.

“I think we just try our best to be present with the kids when we are with the kids,” she responded, adding that “it’s not so much [about] the amount of time,” but about the “quality of time”.

In response to one question about how the couple, who celebrated 11 years of marriage this week, keeps their “love alive,” Bündchen explained that she doesn’t know if there is a “secret recipe,” but that she tries to keep the “communication current, clear and loving”.

“I think it’s important in a relationship to accept what is. We all make mistakes,” she said, adding that she thinks “patience is also very important” and that “we all need to be more patient and compassionate with ourselves and others”.

According to Bündchen, a good relationship also means being with someone that “brings out the best in you”.