Following her appearance on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, Martha Stewart joined TODAY with Hoda & Jenna for an interview. During the conversation, the 81-year-old lifestyle businesswoman revealed her thoughts on the reactions to her SI photoshoot.
Asked if she was surprised after her cover shot fell under the spotlight, Martha admitted she was surprised but also pleased after the reactions:
“I’m quite surprised, actually, but also very pleased because what women have come up to me and said is that it really opened new opportunities for them. And that’s what I really care about. I really care about people feeling good about themselves. And if they can, if I can pose in a bathing suit and make people feel better about themselves, it’s great. Successful living — that’s what it’s all about.”
Jenna Bush Hager then asked Martha if she would’ve done the photoshoot when she was in her 30s, 40s, or 50s. Martha answered enthusiastically:
“Yeah, of course. Especially then. [Laughs] Maybe I would have been a supermodel, and I didn’t have to wait so long to have that kind of notoriety. But it was very nice, and the editors were so great and so gracious about it all, too.”
With her Sports Illustrated photoshoot, Stewart became the oldest cover model in the publication’s history. According to the homemaker, this was a historic moment:
“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.’ And I don’t think about age very much, but I thought that this is kind of historic.”
Speaking to Variety, she revealed the secret to her fresh looks in the photoshoot, and it wasn’t plastic surgery:
“I’ve had absolutely no plastic surgery whatsoever. I have very healthy, good hair. I drink green juice every day. I take my vitamins. I eat very healthfully. I have very good skin doctors. I’m very careful in the sun. I wear hats, and I wear sunblock every single day.”
You can watch the episode below.