Gisele Bündchen pays tribute to her late mother: “You were an angel on earth”

The Brazilian model Giselle Bündchen on Tuesday shared a touching tribute to her mother Vânia Nonnenmacher, who died on Jan. 28 at age 75 from cancer, Entertainment Tonight reported.

“Beloved mom, It hurts to know that I won’t be able to hug you anymore, but I know that you will always be watching over us,” Bündchen wrote on Instagram in Portuguese and English. “You were an angel on earth, always helping everyone around you. I am so grateful to be your daughter and to have learned from you.”

Bündchen posted multiple pictures of her mother and family throughout the years.

“Thank you for being the best role model of love, strength, compassion, courage, and grace. I will forever cherish the beautiful memories we shared and will live by the values you taught me,” Bündchen added. “You will live forever through the many lives that you touched. Thank you for giving me five best friends for life. Your love will always guide us. I will see you in my dreams. Love you .”

Bündchen, 43, recently opened up to Sunday Morning correspondent Lee Cowan about life after divorcing NFL superstar Tom Brady, with whom she shares two children. 

She said that while divorce was not what she wanted for her family, she has no regrets. 

“I mean, it’s not what I dreamed of and what I hoped for,” Bündchen said. “My parents have been married for 50 years, and I really wanted that to happen. But I think you have to accept, you know, sometimes that the way you are in your 20s, it’s sometimes you grow together, sometimes you grow apart. He’s the father of my kids, so I always wish him the best, and I’m so grateful that he gave me wonderful children, and I think, you know, when a door shuts, other doors open.”