Gayle King shows off her revenge body on the cover of a magazine Sports Illustrated Swimsuit — and she wants to make sure her ex-husband sees her moment in the spotlight.
During an interview with Entertainment tonight On Thursday, May 16th CBS Morning The co-presenter, 69, spoke about shooting her new cover for the magazine to celebrate 60th Anniversary Edition, released on May 17.
Speaking with the outlet at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City, King shared that both of her children complimented her on the magazine’s cover — and joked that she would send a copy to her ex-husband, Bill Bumpus.
Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated
“They each said to me individually, ‘Mom, this is really cool. We’re so proud of you,'” King said. “I wonder what my ex-husband is saying. I’ll send him a copy!”
King and Bumpus, an attorney, married in 1982 and have two children: daughter Kirby, 38, and son William, 37. The couple later divorced in 1993.
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The talk show host is one of 52 people featured in the magazine’s anniversary edition including Brooklyn Decker, Christie Brinkley, Kate Love, Lena Bloom, Lily Aldridge, Martha Stewart, Maye Musk, Molly Sims, Paulina Porizkova, Tyra Banks and Winnie Harlow. She’s also one of a few special edition solo cover models, alongside Hunter McGrady, Chrissy Teigen, and Kate Upton.
“I dug into it, but it’s still amazing to me, honestly,” King said. at From the photo session. “I used to look at it myself all the time… Never in a million years did I think I would be this person.”
“But what’s most interesting to me is the number of women who have stopped me and said, ‘You have no idea where this inspiration comes from,'” King added.
The host previously spoke with PEOPLE about how she prepared to appear in the magazine — including how she learned from her fellow models and everything. C swimwear The team, including editor-in-chief MJ Day, before the big photo shoot.
“You realize when you’re around models who know what the hell they’re doing, it really takes a different set of skills — you can tell the difference between their poses and mine,” she told PEOPLE. “She’s so natural. By the way, Tyra was showing me how to pose. I loved getting a personal lesson from Tyra Banks.”
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In her chat with PEOPLE, King also joked that she would have to “start starving herself” before filming — but Day immediately disagreed.
“Don’t do that at all. “We don’t want you to change anything you do,” King recalled Day telling her. “I said, ‘Really?’ I don’t have to starve myself?” And she said, “Please, we want you to do exactly what you’re doing.” And I said, “Well, is cheese good on thighs?” And she said, “Yes, Gayle, actually,” because I was so worried about that”.
King described the shoot as an “amazing experience” in the end, and joked that the crew “carried out” her request for a “stylish cleavage.”
“There was a pair of swimsuits that they pulled out. I said, ‘I’m not wearing that,'” she recalls. I don’t wear that.” “I’ve always been in favor of sleek design, as I call it…I wanted sleek design, and they achieved all of that.”
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