Long before her name became linked to former NFL star Tom Brady, Candice Swanepoel was a little girl growing up on a South African farm, dreaming of becoming a ballet dancer. Today, the supermodel is known for international fashion campaigns, high-profile runway appearances, and a career that has taken her around the world. Yet the childhood photos she has shared reveal a much more personal side of her life, filled with family memories, outdoor adventures, and moments with the people closest to her. Candice was discovered while shopping at a flea market with her mother at around 15, setting her on a path she could hardly have imagined. Years later, her journey from the countryside to the fashion capitals would become an extraordinary story of ambition and opportunity.
As her career grew, Candice worked with major designers and brands while learning to navigate the demanding schedules of international Fashion Week. She has recalled how different the modeling industry felt before social media allowed fans to follow models’ lives so closely, and she has never hidden her affection for the freedom of her childhood. Her family photographs offer glimpses of that earlier world, including playful snapshots with her brother and affectionate memories with her father. But becoming a mother brought an even bigger change in perspective. Candice shares two sons, Anacan, born in October 2016, and Ariel, born in June 2018, with her former longtime partner, Brazilian model Hermann Nicoli. As she balanced motherhood with a demanding career, she faced a question many working parents understand: how could she keep pursuing her ambitions without missing the moments that mattered most?
Candice has spoken openly about the effort required to balance professional commitments with raising her children. During busy fashion schedules, she has described flying back to New York between events in Milan simply to spend time with her sons, even when the trip leaves little opportunity to rest. She has also explained that motherhood changed how she viewed her body and helped her become more confident in her own choices. Rather than allowing outside expectations to dictate her return to work after childbirth, she focused on finding a balance that suited her family. Her professional opportunities have also included projects celebrating motherhood, such as Gap’s 2017 Mama Said campaign, which supported Every Mother Counts, an organization working to improve maternal health and childbirth safety. Those experiences reveal a life shaped not only by fashion, but also by family priorities and causes she values.
Now, reports linking Candice with Tom Brady have brought renewed attention to both stars’ lives beyond their careers. Us Weekly and PEOPLE have cited unnamed sources who described the pair as dating and spending time together in Miami, where both reportedly live. Neither star had publicly confirmed the relationship in the reports described here, so the romance remains unverified publicly. Brady is a father of three: Jack, whom he shares with actress Bridget Moynahan, and Benjamin and Vivian, whom he shares with his former wife, Gisele Bündchen. If the reports are accurate, the two would bring together families with five children and demanding professional lives. For now, Candice’s photos offer a glimpse of what matters most to her beyond the headlines: the memories she is making with her sons, the roots she still cherishes, and a life that extends far beyond the runway.