Gisele Bundchen felt a sense of "self-imposed guilt" about returning to work after having kids.
The 38-year-old model – who has kids Vivian, five, and Benjamin, eight, with her sports star husband Tom Brady – has admitted she felt like a "terrible mother" when she made the decision to return to work.
Gisele explained: "I had all this horrible, self-imposed guilt. I thought what a terrible mother I was for leaving my child even for like a day."
Gisele – who retired from the catwalk in 2016 – felt a similar sense of guilt when she took her children with her to work.
In her new memoir, ‘Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life’ – excerpts of which have been shared by People – she says: "I was feeling guilty for that too. Like, ‘Here we are on a plane and the baby is crying.’"
In fact, the Brazilian beauty admitted to losing a bit of herself in the aftermath of becoming a parent for the first time.
She said: "When I became a mom, I kind of lost myself. It was like a part of me died.
"I’d been this very independent person. It was all about me. But now I had this little being, and I suddenly felt l couldn’t do other things and that was very hard for me. All I ever wanted was to be a mom, but when you’re actually experiencing that, it’s a shock."
Gisele admitted, too, that being a working mother had an impact on her marriage to Tom.
She confessed: "You’re overwhelmed and tired and then you’re not the nicest partner."
However, the duo were ultimately able to move past the problem with the help of each other.
She said: "When someone you love is happy, it makes you happy, or if they’re sad it makes you sad. You suffer with them and you have joy with them."
Gisele Bundchen felt ‘guilty’ about returning to work
