One supermodel who may not be shipping Candice Swanepoel and Tom Brady’s romance is Joan Smalls.
“Joan and Tom were seeing each other on and off for about a year between 2023 and 2024. It was never anything super serious, but they were hooking up for a while and still kept in touch afterward,” a source exclusively tells Us. “Candice and Joan had been best friends for years. They basically came up together in the modeling world and through Victoria’s Secret, so they had a really close bond and a long history together.”
When Swanepoel, 38, started seeing Brady, 49, Smalls, 38, was “completely blindsided by the whole thing and felt really betrayed,” according to the source.
“To her, it was just the ultimate breaking of girl code,” the insider continues. “It wasn’t even necessarily about Tom, but more about the fact that Candice was someone she considered such a close friend. Joan had openly talked to Candice about Tom and had confided in Candice about the relationship.”
Some fans have been questioning the status of Swanepoel and Smalls’ friendship after the pair weren’t photographed together in recent weeks. Both of the models notably walked the runway at this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show on October 18, although they weren’t seen interacting or posing together backstage.
A report also surfaced that Smalls had unfollowed her one-time bestie on Instagram. When one social media user asked Smalls if she was still friends with Swanepoel, the model reportedly replied, “I’m not friends with backstabbers.”
In a separate since-deleted comment captured by DeuxMoi, Smalls told a follower, “There is no girl code with some people. And the disrespect and carelessness in how they treat you is so unimaginable.”
Us has reached out to reps for Brady, Smalls and Swanepoel for comment.
According to a source, Swanepoel told Smalls at one point to be careful of her relationship with Brady since the former NFL quarterback’s 13-year marriage to Gisele Bündchen had recently ended at the time in 2022.
Now that Swanepoel and Brady are an item, the source says Smalls thinks it’s “a really weird thing for a friend to do.”
“Candice hasn’t apologized to Joan since,” the source adds. “Candice has been seeing Tom since spring, and it has been several months now.”
A separate source, however, tells Us that Smalls and Brady hooked up, but never officially dated. A third source adds, “Gisele is in a great place and is happy with her life. Generally speaking, as the father of her children, she will always want what’s best for him.”
When Us exclusively broke the news on Saturday, October 24, that Brady and Swanepoel are dating, a separate source said the pair have been together “for a while.”
As for how their run-in at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show went, an insider tells Us the pair didn’t interact and “things were definitely awkward.”
“While no one really knew what was going on behind the scenes, Joan was pretty upset about the situation,” the source reveals, “and made a point to keep her distance.”
