Tom Brady 'hurting' amid divorce rumors with Gisele Bundchen: 'He doesn't want to fight'

NFL star Tom Brady is “playing defense” in his marital spat with supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen as he grapples with the emotional toll of it all, according to an insider.

"It's pretty obvious that he's hurting," a source close to Brady told PEOPLE on Friday. "He feels very hurt by her."

Rumors of tensions between the seven-time Super Bowl champion and the world-famous Brazilian model began around the time Brady un-retired from the NFL in March.  Bundchen was reportedly upset because the star quarterback had promised to retire and focus on the family but found herself once again the only one with their children, according to Page Six.

The source insisted tensions have to do with more things than just football, saying, “It’s complicated.”

But news broke earlier this week that both had retained divorce lawyers to begin dividing their assets. PEOPLE’s insider said that Brady did not want a fight, only hiring a lawyer after learning his wife had.

"She is the one steering the divorce," the source said. "She is playing offense and he is playing defense. He wants to protect himself, protect his interests, but he's only starting to go the legal route in his defense from her.”  

“He doesn't want this to be ugly, he doesn't want to fight. If the divorce is happening – and it seems like it is – he wants it to go as smoothly as possible."

The source said that Brady’s pain may stem from how the star is used to winning.

"Think about it: Tom has had a very charmed life," says the source. "Things always seem to go his way. He works hard, he's a good guy, he hasn't had a lot of things go wrong in his life. This is awful for him. You can tell that this really, really hurts."

As Hurricane Ian approached Florida last week, Brady evacuated his three children from the family’s Tampa home to Miami, where the Bucs practiced for their Sunday game against the Kansas City Chiefs at the Dolphins’ training facility.

A source told Page Six said that Bundchen joined her husband in Tampa but the pair are “staying in separate homes amid their marital woes.”