Martha Stewart has made history as the oldest swimsuit model to grace the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.
In a post on Instagram about the cover, the 81-year-old Stewart said she was "thrilled" to make an appearance in the issue alongside other cover stars Megan Fox, Brooks Nader, and Kim Petras. "My motto has always been: 'When you're through changing, you're through,'" she wrote, "So I thought, why not be up for this opportunity of a lifetime? I hope this cover inspires you to challenge yourself to try new things, no matter what stage of life you are in."
In an appearance on the Today show, she said that she agreed to cover the issue because she was going to be the oldest person to do it. "I don't think about age very much, but I thought that this is kind of historic," she added. Stewart got her start in modeling when she was just 15.
Speaking with The New York Times, Stewart said it was "a rather large challenge" to work up the courage to agree to the issue. "It took a bit of vanity but also a bit of confidence," she said. "I thought, 'If I'm feeling good enough physically and mentally to do such a thing, I'm up for it.'" As for any difficulties that came with the shoot, she said she had to wear nine different bathing suits. "All these people were prodding me and talking about 'the girls,'" she said. "I have never called my breasts 'the girls' in my life."
