The Tom Brady Effect: Why This Blue Bloods Star Went Wildly Private as the Press Swarmed

Bridget Moynahan has been a steady presence on Blue Bloods for years, but the fame part of the job hasn’t always been kind. In her own words, the height of the tabloid focus on her life felt less like celebrity and more like being hunted. And yes, this all went down while she was pregnant with Tom Brady’s first child. Messy timeline. Lots of feelings. Let’s unpack it.

The tabloid pile-on, in her words

Moynahan writes in her book 'Our Shoes, Our Selves' that the media attention during her split from Brady did real damage. She says the scrutiny made what should have been a happy, private time feel unsafe and invasive. She pulled back from public life and kept her circle tight.

"Having a baby should have been the most joyous time of my life, but instead I felt assaulted. It’s unnerving to be followed and stalked like that, especially during such an emotionally vulnerable time. I became reclusive for a bit... I became wildly private. I shared little and only with a select few."

For context: she was pregnant with Brady’s son, John Edward Thomas Moynahan, when this was happening. So the pressure wasn’t just career noise—it was personal, and it was constant.

Brady says it was a shock for him too

Brady has also called that stretch one of the toughest periods of his life. On The Howard Stern Show, he said Moynahan’s pregnancy blindsided him and forced him to grow up fast. At the time, he was early in his relationship with Gisele Bundchen—they would marry later and, years after that, divorce—and he admits the situation was hard on everyone involved: his then-partner, his ex, and himself. In short: no one planned this, and everyone had to adjust on the fly.

Finding a second family on Blue Bloods

Professionally, Moynahan landed on Blue Bloods as ADA Erin Reagan, and that set became more than a job. Fourteen seasons is a lifetime in TV, and the cast lived a lot of real life together between those dinner scenes. When CBS pulled the plug after Season 14, Tom Selleck didn’t exactly hide his feelings—he was frustrated, and he’s said the sudden end felt like losing a family. Moynahan was emotional on the final day too, telling People that the show was their daily routine for 14 years and that the cast weathered everything side by side—births, deaths, marriages, divorces, illnesses. The kind of stuff that bonds people for good.

Blue Bloods quick facts

• Seasons: 14
• Creators: Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess
• Main cast: Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Will Estes, Tom Selleck
• IMDb score: 7.7/10
• Streaming (US): Hulu

What’s your go-to Blue Bloods era—the early, rough-around-the-edges years or the later seasons when the dinner table basically became a ritual?