Who Is Candice Swanepoel Dating? Her Relationship Status Explained

The Short Answer

Candice Swanepoel is not publicly dating anyone. The South African supermodel, now 38 (born October 20, 1988), has no confirmed boyfriend, husband or partner, and she has kept her romantic life almost entirely private since her 2018 split from longtime partner Hermann Nicoli. She is best known for her work with Victoria's Secret — she became a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2010 — and in 2016 she was listed 8th on the Forbes top-earning models list. Her relationship with Nicoli, a Brazilian model, lasted 13 years (2005-2018), included an engagement and produced two sons — and its end marked the beginning of Swanepoel's intensely private era. She does not discuss dating in interviews, is not photographed with a partner and keeps her social media focused on work, her swimwear brand Tropic of C and her children. At 38, one of the most beautiful women in the world is, as far as the public record shows, single — and entirely unbothered about it.

Hermann Nicoli (2005-2018)

Swanepoel's great love story — so far — was with Brazilian model Hermann Nicoli. They met in Paris in 2005, when she was 17 and he was 23, both young models starting out. The relationship lasted 13 years, through her entire Victoria's Secret ascent, and they got engaged — though they never married. Together they had two sons: Anacã (born October 2016) and Ariel (born June 2018). The split came in 2018, shortly after Ariel's birth — the end of a relationship that had spanned Swanepoel's entire adult life to that point. Neither has discussed the breakup in detail; both have remained committed co-parents. Nicoli, now in his forties, keeps a low profile. For Swanepoel, the split meant single motherhood at 30, at the height of her career — and she has handled it with characteristic grace, never speaking ill of Nicoli publicly and keeping the focus on their sons. Thirteen years, two kids, no wedding: the Nicoli chapter was her twenties, and it closed as her thirties began.

Who Is Candice Swanepoel?

Candice Susan Swanepoel is a South African model born October 20, 1988, in Mooi River, KwaZulu-Natal. Discovered at 15 in a Durban flea market, she became one of the defining faces of the 2010s: a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2010 to 2018, the opener of multiple Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows and a fixture on the Forbes highest-paid models list (8th in 2016, earning millions annually). Beyond VS, she has fronted campaigns for Versace, Givenchy, Tom Ford and others, and graced countless magazine covers. In 2018, she launched her swimwear brand, Tropic of C, which has become a successful business reflecting her South African beach roots. Now 38, she remains one of fashion's most in-demand faces, transitioning from Angel to entrepreneur while maintaining her supermodel status. Her career — discovered at 15, Angel at 22, business owner at 30, still working at 38 — is a masterclass in modeling longevity.

Single Mother of Two

Since the 2018 split, Swanepoel's primary identity — by her own account — is mother. Anacã, born October 2016, is now 10; Ariel, born June 2018, is 8. She has spoken about the challenges and joys of raising two boys as a single mother while running a business and maintaining a modeling career: the school runs between shoots, the mom-guilt, the fierce protectiveness. Her sons occasionally appear on her social media — beach days, birthdays — but she guards their privacy carefully, rarely showing their faces in recent years. Co-parenting with Nicoli appears amicable; both prioritize the boys. At 38, Swanepoel has described motherhood as grounding — the thing that matters more than any campaign. The supermodel who once defined fantasy for millions now defines her own reality: two kids, a business, a career on her terms. It is, by her account, the happiest chapter yet.

The Privacy Strategy

Swanepoel's post-Nicoli love life is a blank slate — and that is deliberate. Unlike many models who monetize their dating lives, she has never done the public-boyfriend circuit: no red-carpet debuts with new beaus, no cryptic Instagram captions, no 'soft launches.' Rumors surface occasionally — as they do for any single supermodel — but none have ever been confirmed, and her camp does not comment. Friends describe her as focused: children, Tropic of C, selective modeling work. In interviews, she deflects relationship questions with practiced ease, redirecting to motherhood and business. This is not the privacy of someone hiding something but of someone who decided the trade is not worth it: after 13 years of a public relationship that ended anyway, why audition the next one for the tabloids? At 38, with two kids and an empire, Swanepoel's single status reads less as a gap and more as a choice — the choice to keep the most personal part of life personal.

Rumors and Reality

Over the years, Swanepoel has been linked in gossip columns to various unnamed suitors — Brazilian playboys, fellow models, businessmen — but not a single rumor has ever been confirmed by her or resulted in a public relationship. This is itself revealing: in the tabloid ecosystem, a supermodel who never confirms anything is either the most discreet dater alive or genuinely focused elsewhere. The reality, based on all available evidence, is the latter. Her time goes to Anacã and Ariel (10 and 8), to Tropic of C (which she runs hands-on, from design to marketing) and to the modeling work she still chooses. Her social media — 18 million followers — is a curated mix of campaign shots, brand content and motherhood moments. No mystery men. No hints. The rumor mill has, in effect, given up: there is nothing to report because there is nothing to see. For a woman whose job is being looked at, keeping her love life invisible is a genuine achievement.

Candice Today

At 38, Candice Swanepoel is a supermodel, a CEO and a single mother of two — and, as far as anyone can tell, happily unattached. Tropic of C continues to grow; her modeling career remains elite; her sons Anacã (10) and Ariel (8) are thriving. She splits time between New York, Brazil and South Africa, living the international life she built from a Durban flea-market discovery at 15. Born October 20, 1988, she has spent 23 years in fashion — Angel at 22, mother at 28, entrepreneur at 30, still iconic at 38. Who is Candice Swanepoel dating? No one, publicly — and she seems in no hurry to change that. The 13-year Nicoli relationship was her great love story; the current chapter is about her boys, her brand and herself. For one of the world's most desired women, the most radical choice is also the simplest: privacy.

Tropic of C

In 2018 — the same year her relationship with Hermann Nicoli ended — Swanepoel launched Tropic of C, her swimwear brand. The timing was symbolic: a new chapter, built on her own terms. The brand, inspired by her South African beach childhood, emphasizes sustainable materials and timeless design, and it has grown into a serious business — stocked internationally, worn by influencers, profitable. For Swanepoel, born October 20, 1988, in Mooi River, it was the transition from model to mogul: the 30-year-old Angel becoming a founder. She designs, markets and runs the company hands-on, bringing the same discipline that made her a top-earning model. At 38, Tropic of C is her second act — the thing she will own long after the campaigns end. Single mother of two, CEO, still modeling: the brand is the professional expression of her personal reinvention. The Angel became an entrepreneur, and the business, like the woman, shows no signs of slowing.

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