SI's first out lesbian swimsuit cover model shares the raw photos that stayed behind the scenes

Lauren Chan made waves across the globe when she was named the first out lesbian to grace the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. While the 2025 cover features Chan looking stunning in a vibrant green bikini, it is what happened behind the scenes that is currently capturing the internet's attention. The veteran plus-size model and advocate is pulling back the curtain on the fashion industry by sharing the images that usually stay on the cutting room floor.

Chan has spent over a decade fighting for size inclusivity, and she is using her historic platform to show that "perfection" is a polished myth. On social media, she shared raw, unretouched photos and videos from her shoot to highlight the reality of a woman's body.

“This is what I looked like the day I shot my @si_swimsuit cover—these angles just don’t make it to the pages of the magazine,” she wrote.

Finding Confidence Through Authenticity

The images show a side of modeling rarely seen in glossy publications. Chan accompanied the visuals with a vulnerable caption about the physical changes she has experienced as she navigates her thirties.

“You need to see them and I’d like for you to read this: I’m in my thirties, my tits have fallen, no workout ever toned my mid-section, my skin is loosening, any ass I had is looong gone…and I feel better than ever,” she shared.

According to Chan, this newfound confidence did not come from hitting a specific weight or fitness goal. Instead, she credits her self-assurance to her journey of coming out. In a 2023 essay for Vogue, she spoke publicly about her queerness for the first time, a move she says fundamentally changed how she views herself.

“That’s not because I’ve gotten any smaller, it’s thanks to the shift in my mental health that has come from living as my authentic self,” she explained. For Chan, being sexy is about being present and being at peace with oneself.

A Career Built on Breaking Barriers

Chan is no stranger to the inner workings of the fashion world. Before she was a household name on covers, she was a writer and editor at Glamour, where she pioneered coverage on size inclusivity.

“It was a topic that data proved would work, yet, at the time, there wasn’t anyone currently at the magazine to be the face of that,” she told Elle in 2023.

After leaving the editorial world, she launched Henning, a luxury plus-size clothing brand that was eventually acquired by Universal Standard. Her first appearance in Sports Illustrated in 2023 also broke records, as she was the first queer, plus-size Rookie model in the magazine’s history, according to reports from Elle.

During a recent Sports Illustrated panel on body image, Chan explained that she wants to redefine what people consider "artful" in photography. She noted that she stopped trying to hide her body and instead leaned into her natural shape.

“Bigger bodies are artful, too,” she said. “What I really tried to do is stop posing in a way that was minimizing my insecurities. Rolls can be the art. It can be the reference you're trying to achieve. And then when it's printed somewhere like this, hopefully that becomes the reference for other people.”

This article originally appeared last year.