Hunter McGrady wants to show the world that “sexy comes in all sizes.”
The 31-year-old, known as Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s “curviest model ever,” landed her first cover for the outlet’s 2024 issue. The mom of two joins Chrissy Teigen, Gayle King and Kate Upton as this year’s cover girls.
The magazine, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary, launched seven covers. The issue is out on newsstands now.
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McGrady told Fox News Digital she’s hoping her cover will encourage readers to celebrate all body types.
“Much of it goes back to me being 15 years old and starting as a straight-sized model,” said McGrady. “I was a size two. I was striving for something that I couldn’t attain. Once I grasped the fact that this wasn’t going to be my journey, I let myself live and be happy. I grew into the person I am today. I’m proud of my body and what it has done for me.”
The Los Angeles native admitted the road to acceptance was a long one for her. It was in therapy where she learned to accept — and love — her body.
“The first thing I learned in therapy is what our bodies can do for us,” she explained. “Hating your body — and I have to be careful with saying this — but that’s the biggest money-maker. … The more you hate yourself, the more that you find things to nitpick, the more money people are making off you. … Everyone’s saying, ‘Look different. Be different. Wear this. Cover up this way. Drink this and you’ll be thinner.’
“I just call it the bulls— meter.”
The pinup insisted she never felt pressured by SI Swimsuit to lose any weight before a photo shoot. She couldn’t have been more grateful.
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“I still very much believe that sexy comes in all sizes,” said McGrady. “But I had to work on myself first. It’s a journey to get there. I’m not saying I don’t have bad days, because I do. We’re all human. I think what Sports Illustrated is doing — celebrating all bodies –—is so powerful. They’re doing the work. … Especially right now when we’re entering this weird era, an Ozempic era, and just celebrating thinness.”
“Look, do what you want to do with your body,” McGrady explained. “But I also think it’s so important to showcase diversity, different body types, different ethnicities, different kinds of women. We all exist, and we will always be just as important. Sports Illustrated has never backed down from that. … They stand strong. I think that’s so powerful. And I think that is what’s going to continue moving the needle.”
WATCH: SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SWIMSUIT MODEL HUNTER MCGRADY SAYS SHE PRAYS FOR HER HATERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA: ‘WE NEED THIS’
The body positivity activist made her SI Swimsuit debut in 2017 after she was discovered through the outlet’s casting call. The star admitted that, over the years, online trolls didn’t hesitate to bully her on social media due to her shape.
“No matter what you do, you’re going to get hate,” McGrady shrugged. “But you’re also going to get love. … Negative comments or anybody who shames someone about their body? That’s so boring. Get something better to talk about. … There are so many people who find that the biggest, most exciting part of their day is shaming someone about their body or how they look. … That says less about me and more about them.”
McGrady said that her father, actor Michael McGrady, gave her advice about coping with “haters.”
“He’s always told me, ‘You’re going to get both sides. No one comes out of this industry unscathed,’” she recalled. “I knew that from a very young age. I was prepared for that. I’m still prepared for that. I’ve been able to armor myself. … I will say online bullying is something that is still very prevalent and still needs to be talked about because there are no real ramifications for it. You can just get behind a keyboard and say the first thing that comes to mind.
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“If I respond to a mean message, which I very seldom do, people will say, ‘I was just looking for a response. I love you and love what you do,’” McGrady continued. “[Bullies] just want to get a rise out of you just because you’re a public figure and there’s no real ramifications for it.
“I do think online bullying is very prevalent today, and it’s a conversation we should all be having,” McGrady added.
The star credited SI Swimsuit for being willing to show all types of bodies — no matter the size. McGrady shot her 2024 cover eight months postpartum.
“I’m coming in now as a mom of two little ones,” McGrady said. “I have a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old. And the way that I look at the world now is different. The way that I am, the very fabric of my being is just different. But I feel the best. I feel the most grounded. … The moment I walked on set, I felt that confidence. I felt really beautiful.”
“I’m not going to lie. (After giving birth), I didn’t feel very sexy at first,” she explained. “But as I got to know myself and this new body that motherhood gave me, I began to stop looking at the way my body looks so much aesthetically. … I see my body for what it has done for me and how it has gotten me here with my two beautiful children. There’s such a misconception that once you become a mom, that’s it. Call it a day, no more career, you can’t feel sexy.
“That’s all wrong,” McGrady continued. “It’s quite the opposite. The world becomes exciting again because you get to live it through that childlike wonder again. It’s a freeing feeling. I also stopped caring, quite literally, about what anyone thinks about me. I do whatever I want.”
McGrady revealed that she hopes readers get one message from her photos. It’s the same one she tried to share when she first joined SI.
“It’s all about having self-love,” she said. “Everyone has their bad days. Confidence is not linear. It’s a climb. You think you’re at the top, and then you get knocked down, and you don’t feel so great. But it’s about doing the work. A lot of people in our society think, ‘All I have to do is lose weight, and I’ll feel better, and then I can get in that swimsuit.’ You can lose all the weight you want, you can gain all the weight you want. You can get anything done. But if you’re not doing the self-love work, nothing is going to matter.
“It has to start with the way we look at ourselves,” McGrady continued. “I’m a firm believer in that. Whether it’s through affirmations, therapy, support groups or whatever it might be for you. The key is to love yourself. The key is to say, ‘I can put on anything because I feel comfortable in myself. It doesn’t matter what people say. I feel good inside and out.’ That’s what shines through. Then you can put on a skimpy two-piece or one-piece and romp around in Cancun.”
