6 Breathtakingly Gorgeous Photos From Brianna LaPaglia’s SI Swimsuit Debut We’re Still Thinking About

The content creator and podcast host served as the January digital cover star.

Brianna LaPaglia was photographed by Katherine Goguen at The Austin Estate. Swimsuit by PatBO. / Katherine Goguen/Sports Illustrated

SI Swimsuit kicked off the year on a high note with Brianna LaPaglia serving as the magazine’s January digital cover star. The 25-year-old, who rose to fame through her role as a personality and podcast host at Barstool Sports, has an incredible, inspirational story of perseverance and self-love, as she shared with the world last year after walking away from a toxic relationship.

Her debut with the brand was nothing short of beautiful, and the content creator, who has a whopping 4.3 million followers across two TikTok accounts and an additional 1.2 million on Instagram, used the opportunity to share her excitement about her new era. From a revamped BFFs podcast with friend and cohost Josh Richards to a journey of prioritizing herself, LaPaglia had so much to celebrate while on set.

This month, LaPaglia appears in another pop culture and lifestyle platform as Elite Daily’s March “main character,” giving the brand an exclusive on her life. The super relatable, incredibly fun influencer is always serving up inspo, whether it's through her latest fashion moment or career move. To celebrate her, let’s look back at six of our favorite photos from her SI Swimsuit debut earlier this year, where she was photographed by Katherine Goguen at The Austin Estate in La Quinta, Calif.

Brianna LaPaglia was photographed by Katherine Goguen at The Austin Estate. Swimsuit by Isa Boulder. / Katherine Goguen/Sports Illustrated

Brianna LaPaglia was photographed by Katherine Goguen at The Austin Estate. Swimsuit by Christopher Esber. / Katherine Goguen/Sports Illustrated

Brianna LaPaglia was photographed by Katherine Goguen at The Austin Estate. Swimsuit by Tropic of C. Top by Andres Otalora. / Katherine Goguen/Sports Illustrated

Brianna LaPaglia was photographed by Katherine Goguen at The Austin Estate. Swimsuit by PatBO. / Katherine Goguen/Sports Illustrated

Brianna LaPaglia was photographed by Katherine Goguen at The Austin Estate. Swimsuit by SAME Los Angeles. / Katherine Goguen/Sports Illustrated

Brianna LaPaglia was photographed by Katherine Goguen at The Austin Estate. Swimsuit by Sommer Swim. / Katherine Goguen/Sports Illustrated

While on set for her debut shoot, LaPaglia highlighted how the opportunity was a way of “reclaiming” herself after her split from country singer Zach Bryan. In late 2024, she went on the BFFs podcast to accuse her ex of emotional abuse, alleging that he and his team offered her $12 million and an NDA to keep her from talking about their relationship.

In the fallout, LaPaglia received backlash from unfair critics, but she has also seen an outpour of support from new and old fans alike. The positive response has helped her block out all the noise and focus on what really matters.

“It means so much more to me than feeling sexy and being in a cool location,” LaPaglia said about her SI Swimsuit feature. “I’m allowed to do what I want to do, I’m allowed to do it in any fashion in any amount of clothes in front of whoever I want and no one has the control over you to tell you what you can and cannot do. And to me, isn’t just like, ‘check it off the bucket list, that was really cool.’ This is like reclaiming myself and that’s what this all means to me.”