Joaquim Valente spent most of his adult life teaching jiu-jitsu to children and busy parents in a Miami gym his family built from nothing. Then one of his students happened to be the son of the most photographed model in the world, and everything about his quiet routine changed. In December 2025, Valente married Gisele Bundchen in Florida, three years after she finalized her divorce from Tom Brady, closing a chapter that tabloids had been trying to write for him since the very first photograph surfaced.
Joaquim Valente's Life Before Gisele Bundchen
Joaquim Valente was born on November 7, 1989, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the youngest of three brothers in a family whose entire identity is built around Brazilian jiu-jitsu. His father, Pedro Valente Sr., held the rank of grandmaster in the sport and also worked as a plastic surgeon and public health official in Rio de Janeiro. His mother, Alice Maria da Silveira, raised her sons with an emphasis on discipline, education, and manners that Valente has credited throughout his adult life.
He moved to Miami in 2007 to study criminology at Barry University, continuing his martial arts training alongside his coursework. That same year, he received the Professor's Diploma directly from Grandmaster Helio Gracie, one of the founding figures of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. According to the family's own website, only 27 people received that diploma from Gracie across 75 years, making it one of the rarest honors in the sport.
The Valente Brothers Academy: His Career in Miami
Alongside his brothers Pedro and Gui, Valente co-founded the Valente Brothers Academy in Miami, continuing a martial arts lineage that traces back more than six decades in their family. Pedro holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of Miami, while Gui holds a master of science degree in sport management from Barry University. Together, the three brothers built one of the more established jiu-jitsu academies in South Florida, training everyone from casual students to competitive athletes.
His LinkedIn profile lists his education at Barry University from 2007 to 2011 and places him professionally in Miami Beach, Florida, where he continues to run the family academy today. Reports have estimated his net worth between one million and five million dollars, built largely through decades of coaching rather than any connection to his wife's career.
How Joaquim Valente Met Gisele Bundchen
The connection began in 2021, when the supermodel enrolled her son Benjamin, whom she shares with Tom Brady, in one of Valente's jiu-jitsu classes. Bundchen later explained the decision in an interview with Dust magazine, saying a friend had told her about the Valente brothers and their martial arts school, and she wanted to steer her almost-teenage son toward something structured. She ended up joining the classes herself and building a friendship with her son's instructor.
That friendship deepened through 2022, a year that included Bundchen's divorce from Brady after 13 years of marriage. Multiple sources described Valente as a steady presence for her during that period, though both maintained for months that their relationship remained platonic. They were photographed together in Costa Rica in November 2022 and again in January 2023, and a source close to the family shut down dating speculation at the time, insisting he had simply been her children's instructor for years.
When Joaquim Valente and Gisele Bundchen Went Public
By February 2024, People confirmed what fans had suspected for over a year: Valente and Bundchen had quietly been dating since June 2023. Bundchen addressed the shift in her own words during an interview with The New York Times that March, describing the relationship as unlike anything she had experienced before. She said it was the first time she had dated someone who had been a friend first, calling the dynamic honest and transparent in a way her previous relationships had not been.
The couple kept their romance largely private even after confirming it, avoiding red carpets and formal joint appearances in favor of quiet family trips and gym sessions, a contrast to the intense media attention that had followed Bundchen for over two decades.
Joaquim Valente Becomes a Father
People confirmed in October 2024 that Bundchen was expecting her third child, and Valente's first. A source told the outlet the couple felt ready to build a peaceful, loving environment for their expanding family. Their son was born in early February 2025, joining Bundchen's two older children, Benjamin and Vivian, whom she shares with Brady.
Valente has largely kept his role as a father private, though Bundchen has occasionally shared glimpses of their family life. In a Father's Day tribute posted in June 2026, she publicly praised him as an incredible role model, thanking him for the love, humility, integrity, discipline, kindness, and consistency he brought to their household, qualities she connected directly to his years of martial arts training.
Joaquim Valente and Gisele Bundchen's Wedding
The couple married in Florida in December 2025, exactly three years after her divorce from Brady was finalized. The ceremony was reported quietly, consistent with how the two had handled nearly every stage of their relationship, without the scale or media presence that had surrounded Bundchen's first wedding in 2009.
The marriage marked the formal beginning of a blended family that includes Valente, Bundchen, their infant son, and her two older children from her previous marriage. Reports since the wedding describe a household grounded in the same routines that brought the couple together in the first place, with martial arts training remaining a central part of daily life in Miami.
Joaquim Valente in 2026
As of 2026, Valente continues to run the Valente Brothers Academy in Miami Beach alongside his brothers, maintaining the same career he held long before his name became attached to one of the most recognized women in the world. He has not sought a public platform separate from his family life, and most updates about him continue to come through his wife's social media rather than his own.
For a man whose family has spent more than sixty years teaching discipline through jiu-jitsu, that steadiness appears to be exactly the point.
Joaquim Valente Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Joaquim Valente |
| Born | November 7, 1989, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Age | 36 |
| Profession | Jiu-jitsu instructor |
| Business | Co-founder, Valente Brothers Academy |
| Education | Barry University, Criminology (2007 to 2011) |
| Spouse | Gisele Bundchen (married December 2025) |
| Son | Born February 2025 |
| Based In | Miami Beach, Florida |
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Joaquim Valente?
Joaquim Valente is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor and co-founder of the Valente Brothers Academy in Miami. He is the husband of supermodel Gisele Bundchen, whom he married in December 2025.
How did Joaquim Valente meet Gisele Bundchen?
Valente met Bundchen in 2021 after she enrolled her son Benjamin in his jiu-jitsu class in Miami. Their friendship grew over the following two years and turned romantic after her 2022 divorce from Tom Brady.
When did Joaquim Valente and Gisele Bundchen get married?
The couple married in Florida in December 2025, three years after Bundchen's divorce from Tom Brady was finalized.
Does Joaquim Valente have children with Gisele Bundchen?
Yes. The couple welcomed a son together in early February 2025, Bundchen's third child and Valente's first.
What is Joaquim Valente's net worth?
Valente's net worth has been estimated between one million and five million dollars, built primarily through his career running the Valente Brothers jiu-jitsu academy in Miami.