Bethenny Frankel Earned Her SI Swimsuit Rookie Status After Walking the Swim Week Runway

Earlier this week, Bethenny Frankel was announced as a 2026 SI Swimsuit rookie. But if you saw the entrepreneur, best-selling author and influencer walk the SI Swimsuit runway during Swim Week last year, the news shouldn’t come as any surprise.

The 55-year-old mom of one and former The Real Housewives of New York City star took the runway by storm when she joined us at the W South Beach last spring. Frankel walked the runway in three different looks, including a denim bikini by Denimcratic, an itty-bitty black and white polka dot two-piece courtesy of Toxic Sadie, and a high-cut Norma Kamali animal print one-piece.

Each look was better than the last and proved that Frankel was a supermodel at heart. When we posted her runway moments to TikTok, the comment section was immediately flooded with praise for the New York native.

Bethenny Frankel walks the runway for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway Show | John Parra/Getty Images/Sports Illustrated

“Bethenny Frankel has always been and will alwayssssss be THAT GIRL slay,” one fan stated.

“Women all over the world are rejoicing this moment... not because she's older, but because she has never been a model and here she is showing us we can be whatever we want in this lifetime,” someone else observed.

“Oh she ate this right up,” another comment read.

“What I love about this is that Bethany looks like she’s having so much fun & that’s what it’s all about,” an additional user wrote.

Following last year’s incredible debut on the runway, Frankel posed for the 2026 SI Swimsuit Issue in Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Her first official image from this year’s print issue, captured by James Macari, dropped earlier this week, and Frankel clearly brought her trademark confidence to bear while on location.

Bethenny Frankel was photographed by James Macari in Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Swimsuit by Tropic of C. | James Macari/Sports Illustrated

You can see it not only in the snapshot above,, in which she wore a geometric Tropic of C two-piece, but in her fun-loving behind-the-scenes content on social media. Another observation from her time on set in Mexico? Clearly, Frankel can rock just about any style of swimwear, which tracks with what she told us for an exclusive Swim Edit newsletter Q&A last December.

“My swimsuit style is like a snowflake, no two are the same,” Frankel stated of her personal swimwear preferences. “I will rock a bandeau, a triangle, a monokini, a classic mom one-piece and, thanks to SI [Swimsuit], I recently added thong to my repertoire. I’m an equal opportunity swimsuit employer.”

Stay tuned for Frankel’s full gallery from Loreto when the 2026 SI Swimsuit Issue drops in May.