Retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady and Victoria’s Secret supermodel Candice Swanepoel are reportedly a couple, according to multiple outlets including People and US Weekly, nearly two weeks after the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
A source told People the pair have been “rumored to be dating for a while now” and are “spending a lot of time together,” adding that the arrangement is helped by geography: both live in Miami. “They both live in Miami, so it’s very convenient,” the source said.
Another source told People the relationship has been going on longer than it appears. “Candice and Tom have been dating for months. She’s been very secretive and selective about who she’s told about their dating. When they have met up, they’ve gone [to great] lengths not to be spotted.”
Neither Brady nor Swanepoel has commented publicly on the reports.
Who is Candice Swanepoel
Swanepoel, born in South Africa in 1988, grew up on a dairy and beef farm in Mooi River, a small town in KwaZulu-Natal. She has described her father’s work ethic as formative. “One of my most vivid memories as a child was seeing my father wake up at 4 am to take care of our farm. His dedication and drive is something that is now part of me,” she told V Magazine in 2023.
A talent scout discovered her at a flea market when she was 15, while she was attending St. Anne’s College, an all-girls boarding school. Within a year she was booking modeling jobs across Europe. At 18 she worked in Paris, Milan, London and South Africa before relocating to New York to model full-time.
Shortly after the move, she made her Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show debut. “I remember going to the casting for the show and being so nervous because I wanted it so badly,” she told W Magazine in 2012, recalling that she flew her mother in from South Africa to attend. She earned her Angel wings in 2010 and wore the Fantasy Bra, valued that year at $10 million, in 2013. She has walked in 14 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows total, including this year’s.
After the most recent show, Swanepoel posted about the experience on Instagram: “It’s hard to explain the very particular feeling it is to walk the @victoriassecret fashion show. Maybe some of these pictures can explain better than words can for now… while I come back to reality. Forever grateful.”
The Bündchen and Smalls angles
The dating reports drew attention in part because of Brady’s marriage to fellow supermodel Gisele Bündchen, which lasted from 2009 to 2022 and produced two children, Benjamin and Vivian. Sources close to Bündchen told TMZ that she and Swanepoel have crossed paths over the years and been friendly, but were never close friends.
A separate rift has reportedly opened between Swanepoel and fellow Victoria’s Secret model Joan Smalls, described by Page Six as having been “inseparable” friends with Swanepoel for 15 years. Smalls reportedly dated Brady on and off for about a year, and sources told Page Six she is now pressing mutual friends to take sides, roiling the Victoria’s Secret model circle.
In now-deleted social media comments, Smalls reportedly referred to Swanepoel as a “backstabber” who violated “girl code,” writing: “And the disrespect and carelessness in how they treat you is so unimaginable. There’s no going back. Some people lack humility and moral compass. And the way they gaslight, lie and minimize your feelings is the worst slap in the face after 15yrs of friendship. Not a sorry said or written. Onwards and upwards!!!”
Swanepoel’s representative responded in a statement to Page Six: “Candice has always been exceptionally private about her personal life, with her focus remaining on raising her children. She and Joan share a longstanding history and a friendship that Candice will always respect.”
Her family life
Swanepoel was in a 14-year relationship with Brazilian model Hermann Nicoli, with whom she shares two sons, Anacan and Ariel. The couple got engaged in 2015 and split in 2018; she has not been publicly linked to anyone else since. In a 2018 interview with People, she described adjusting to raising two children: “It’s pretty intense, but it’s amazing. It’s a lot, I’m not gonna lie. The second one is a lot easier, but the situation of having two makes it harder.” She also spoke about her older son’s reaction to his younger brother: “It’s funny because he doesn’t know how to deal with the love. And you know when you think something is really cute and you just want to squeeze it? He doesn’t know how to process that yet.”
