Candice Swanepoel is making it clear she still has respect for Joan Smalls ... even as rumors swirl that Tom Brady came between the two supermodels.

Candice's rep Amanda Ruisi tells TMZ ... "She and Joan share a longstanding history and a friendship that Candice will always respect."

The rep tells us Candice has always been extremely private about her personal life, with her main focus remaining on raising her two children.

The statement comes amid speculation that the longtime friends had a falling out over Candice's budding romance with Tom. Joan was reportedly seeing Tom before Candice.

Fans began questioning their friendship after noticing the models had unfollowed each other on Instagram.

Joan also raised eyebrows by commenting "Two words: SUMMER HOUSE !" on a post about Candice and Tom's romance.

TMZ broke the story ... Tom and Candice have been quietly dating since June.

The romance also sparked girl code chatter involving Tom's ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen ... but our sources told us Gisele's inner circle doesn't see it as a betrayal because she and Candice were never close friends.