Here’s What’s Going On With Tom Brady And Candice Swanepoel's Rumored Relationship Amid Reports That It’s Caused A Messy Behind-The-Scenes Feud

Posted on Oct 26, 2026 UTC

You know Tom Brady. Retired NFL legend, seven-time Super Bowl champion, ex-husband of Gisele Bündchen, etc.

And I imagine you're also familiar with Candice Swanepoel, the South African model best known as one of the most iconic Victoria's Secret Angels.

Well, late last week, reports surfaced that Tom, 49, and Candice, 38, are the hottest new couple.

"They’ve been dating for a while now," a source told People this past weekend, indicating that Tom and Candice have been seeing each other for at least a few months. "They both live in Miami, so it’s very convenient. They’re spending a lot of time together."

In addition to being based in the same city, both Tom and Candice have kids with their respective exes. Tom shares Benjamin, 16, and Vivian, 13, with Gisele, as well as a 19-year-old son, Jack, from his previous relationship with Bridget Moynahan. Meanwhile, Candice is mom to sons Anacan, 10, and Ariel, 8, whom she shares with her ex, Hermann Nicoli. She and Hermann dated for 14 years before splitting in 2018.

In that same People report, another source suggested that Candice and Tom have been very "secretive" about their romance and have gone to great "lengths not to be spotted" together — which might tie into some online rumors about a behind-the-scenes feud... Allow me to explain.

So, the quotes about Tom and Candice came shortly after it was rumored that Candice had had some kind of falling-out with her "best friend" and fellow supermodel, Joan Smalls.

For context, Joan and Candice have been close friends on and off the runway for over a decade. They're both VS Angels and have historically been photographed together at shows. However, at this year's VS Fashion Show on Oct. 18, the two were not seen together, despite both being there.

This sparked speculation that something was awry between the two models, and before long, fans were in Joan's comments section searching for answers. Per a screenshot shared by DeuxMoi, a fan commented on Joan’s Oct. 20 Instagram post, "You are not friend[s] anymore with Candice?" To this, Joan allegedly replied: "im not friends with backstabbers."

In another since-deleted reply to a fan, Joan allegedly went into more detail, writing: "There is no girl code with some people. 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 15 [years of] friendship. Not a sorry said or written. Onwards and upwards!!!"

Soon after, Just Jared posted about the alleged fallout on Instagram, and Joan took to the comments section to write, "Two words: SUMMER HOUSE ! That’ll explain everything." This comment seems to refer to Ciara Miller and Amanda Batula’s friendship fallout over Amanda's secret relationship with Ciara's ex, West Wilson. At the time of writing, it has not been deleted.

At this point, you can probably tell where this is going. Since his 2022 divorce from Gisele, Tom has been romantically linked with a number of famous women: Candice, Kim Kardashian, Alix Earle, Irina Shayk — and it sounds like we might be able to add Joan to that list.

According to an anonymous tip published by DeuxMoi, Joan and Tom previously dated on and off. We don't know exactly when this was, or even if it's true; however, the alleged beef between the VS Angels apparently stems from the fact that Candice "expressed concern" about Joan and Tom's past relationship, "out of respect" for Gisele, and "cautioned Joan to be careful" — only to go and date Tom herself. (Gisele, of course, is connected to Joan and Candice through their history with Victoria's Secret and the wider fashion industry.)

Of course, this all comes from anonymous DeuxMoi sources, so we should take it with a pinch of salt. But it's worth noting that DeuxMoi's post came before People's report on Tom and Candice's romance.

Neither Tom nor Candice has commented on any of this, but we've reached out to their teams for comment. We'll keep you posted with any updates!

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