Supermodel Gisele Bündchen chose family over business when she abruptly bailed on an appearance at the Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity to head back to her loved ones on the East Coast.
We hear Bündchen was expected to speak on a marketing panel at the weeklong media and advertising confab — where VIP attendees included Kanye West, Courtney Love, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jared Leto, Mariah Carey, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg and Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer — but she ditched the gig on short notice to jet back to the US and her hubby, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, and their sons.
The supermodel, who also has her own shoe line, was scheduled to appear Wednesday at “A Conversation With Gisele Bündchen,” hosted by Gordon Bowen, co-founder of ad agency McGarryBowen, and her image appeared on the main page of an app for the conference.
But the Brazilian stunner backed out at the last minute, and actor Rob Lowe stepped in to speak instead. Ogilvy’s Philip Ellis noted that Lowe was a “welcome last-minute addition to the schedule after the supermodel pulled out.”
Buzz was that Gisele had been on a two-week photo shoot for a fashion brand before the conference and Brady wanted her to come home to their family.
But Bundchen’s rep told us she was never confirmed to appear in Cannes, even though her name and photo were included in marketing materials and popped up in news stories leading up to the gathering, which ended Friday.
“Gisele is working in New York. I’m thinking that they probably printed materials prior to getting a go-ahead from us and never took anything down,” her rep said. “I’ve never, never confirmed this opportunity.”
On Friday, Bundchen and Brady were photographed leaving a SoulCycle Studio in Boston together after a sweaty workout. Asked about that sighting 200-plus miles from New York City, the rep told us: “Yes, Gisele is working everyday in New York [and] commutes to Boston.”