Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Hunter McGrady says she prays for her haters on social media: 'We need this'
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Hunter McGrady says she prays for her haters on social media. The plus-size pinup also discusses appearing in the coveted magazine for the third time and where her confidence comes from.
Life for Hunter McGrady has been smooth sailing.
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit pinup, recognized as the magazine’s “curviest model ever,” revealed in November that she will appear in the 2020 issue. The announcement came after the model tied the knot with Brian Keys this summer.
“I say ‘my husband’ all the time, and everyone’s like, ‘We get it, you’re married,’” the 26-year-old gushed to People magazine on Monday.
According to the outlet, McGrady and Keys got engaged in 2017 after dating for over a year and a half. They previously met on Snapchat.
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And, the pair didn’t waste any time building a new life together.
“We honeymooned in Turks and Caicos and then we literally closed on a house on our honeymoon,” McGrady explained. “We got back and moved into our first home together, so it’s been like within six months we got married, honeymooned, bought a house... It brought us closer.”
McGrady shared that she didn’t think twice about becoming a Mrs.
“[On our first date], I saw him and was like, ‘That’s my husband,’” McGrady reflected. “I just felt like I knew him forever. We’re both very easygoing and spontaneous. We just get each other. We have the same humor and the same likes. It just goes to show that when it works, it works!”
In May of this year, McGrady spoke to Fox News about meeting Keys on the social media app.
“He reached out to me,” she explained at the time. “He was on a date with a girl, and she had mentioned my Snapchat to me, and so he followed me for about five months, and I was going from LA to New York., and he had reached out.”
“I was in New York and [he] said, ‘Hey do you want to get some dinner? I'm so and so,’” she continued. “I said, ‘Add me on Facebook.’ I didn't know who he was, and I wanted to see what he looks like. So, he added me on Facebook, and our first date was three days. And now, it's been three and a half years and we're getting married in a month.”
McGrady also revealed Keys has been her biggest supporter when it came to stripping down for Sports Illustrated.
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“He is the most incredible and supportive and secure and amazing man I've ever been with in my life,” she said. “I'm putting myself out there, and I'm really putting it all out there, and he's the first one to buy the magazine. He's the first one to say, ‘Babe, this is amazing. You look killer... This is beautiful.’ He's so special.”
And, when it came to preparing for the big day, McGrady said she was willing to skip the weight-loss race.
“I never quite understood why people used their wedding as a weight-loss journey,” McGrady saud. “For me, I've had friends who have gotten married and all of a sudden, they show up on their wedding day and they look nothing like themselves. Of course, I think exercise is important. Eating right is important. Taking care of yourself is important.”
“But I think that these... Sometimes people go to extremes for their wedding day, and I always say, ‘Well your fiancé asked you to marry as you are right now. You're beautiful as you are,’” she continued. “For me, it was not something that I had to lose a ton of weight for that one day. I'm happy where I'm at. I feel good. I feel beautiful. So, I'm going to show up on my wedding day just like this.”
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The Los Angeles native is the second plus-size model to be featured in the SI Swimsuit Issue after cover girl Ashley Graham. McGrady made her debut in 2017.
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McGrady recalled to Fox News what it was like seeing herself for the very first time on SI.
“So, my very first shoot with them was in body paint, and it was absolutely incredible,” she explained. “It took 12 hours to paint on, and when I saw the photos for the first time, my heart dropped. I've never been so excited and so proud in my life because I'm a size 16, 18. I'm a curvy girl. So, to see those photos in this huge magazine was just such a remarkable moment, not only in my life but in my career. It was just wonderful.”
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