Martha Stewart has made history as Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s oldest cover model, an achievement the 81 year old described as “kind of historic”.

The businesswoman has been chosen as one of four cover models to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s annual Swimsuit Issue, joining Megan Fox, Kim Petras, and Brooks Nader.

Speaking to SI about her cover model status, Stewart said she doesn’t often think about age, but that she was impressed by her feat.

“When I heard that I was going to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, I thought, ‘Oh, that’s pretty good, I’m going to be the oldest person I think ever on a cover of Sports Illustrated,’” Stewart said. “And I don’t think about age very much, but I thought that this is kind of historic.”

As for why she decided to participate in the shoot, the cookbook author said she wanted to prove that age doesn’t matter when it comes to things such as “friendship or in terms of success”. Rather, Stewart said what’s important is “what people do, how people think, how people act”.

“Age is not the determining factor in terms of friendship or in terms of success, but what people do, how people think, how people act, that’s what’s important and not your age,” she explained.

SI Swim’s editor in chief, MJ Day, also took the opportunity to praise Stewart’s mindset, adding: “Never in her life has [Martha] let her circumstances dictate her outcome.

“She’s changed with the times - always one step ahead, it seems - to build a wide-reaching business empire.”

For the photo shoot, Stewart travelled to the Dominican Republic, where she was photographed in 10 swimwear looks by Ruven Afanador. For the cover, Stewart can be seen wearing a white swimsuit and an orange jacket.

On social media, Stewart’s 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover has been met with praise from fans, with many applauding the TV personality.

“I love love love this so so much!” one person tweeted about the cover, while another said: “@MarthaStewart you are iconic and an inspiration in every way. As if I couldn’t love you any more than I already do.”

As for how she prepared for the shoot, which she described as a “challenge” at her age, Stewart told the hosts of the Today show on Monday that she went to pilates every other day and didn’t eat bread or pasta for a “couple months”.

Stewart also revealed that there are “no tricks” during the photo shoot. “There’s no tricks, actually. No tricks. They tell you you look okay, that’s nice. They sort of reinforce that it’s okay to be doing what you’re doing,” she said.

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