BTS: Body by Victoria, Summer 2012 & Candice Bringing Her Parents To Set

Parents and a Victoria’s Secret photo shoot don’t necessarily go hand in hand, but for VS model Candice Swanepoel, well, they do.

“It was a bit strange at first having my parents on the VS set,” Swanepoel tells PEOPLE. “I don’t think I even had boobs yet when I left home at 15!”

The South African stunner did say there was a plus to having her folks visit her while on duty, though. “The best part was connecting my two families,” she says, referring to her VS family and her actual family. “And reassuring to my parents to see what wonderful people I spend most of my time with. Victoria’s Secret even made my parents a cake saying, ‘Thank you for lending us your beautiful daughter.’”

Since then, the beauty has kept busy with the lingerie brand. She currently stars in the Body by Victoria Summer campaign with new Angels Lais Ribeiro and Bregje Heinen (go behind the scenes with them above), and mentored both while on set.

“Candice is such a professional,” Ribeiro shares. And “being an Angel has been such a blessing and changed my life so much. It has given me so many opportunities and brought me to places that I have only dreamed of.”

It looks as if the newbie is really loving the gig, too; she didn’t want to stop working! “Honestly, the toughest part about the day was wrapping,” she shares. “There was just an incredible dynamic on the Body by Victoria set, I didn’t want it to end.”

PEOPLE.COM