All Eyes Are on Brianna LaPaglia at the SI Swimsuit Launch Party—and for Good Reason

The January 2025 SI Swimsuit digital cover star joined the launch week festivities at the Hard Rock Hotel New York.

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

Brianna LaPaglia entered her SI Swimsuit era on a particularly exciting note. The 2025 Massachusetts native, who now lives in New York City, made her debut with the magazine as its first digital cover model of 2025.

Four months later, LaPaglia joins the magazine on her own turf, sporting a plunging, ruched Retrofête gown at the SI Swimsuit 2025 Issue launch party red carpet.

Brianna LaPaglia / John Nacion/Variety/Getty Images

The event—hosted at the Hard Rock Hotel New York—is one familiar to LaPaglia. In fact, the 25-year-old was asked to host the event in 2024. She divulged the reason why she declined during a sit-down interview with the magazine earlier this year.

“Last May, I was asked to host the red carpet by you guys and [I was] so excited; we had a bunch of calls about it,” LaPaglia shared with SI Swimsuit. “I had told my ex about the opportunity [...] He made me feel like it was trashy, below me, and that if I did it, he would look at me differently. I had to cancel.”

In the interview, the content creator and BFFs Podcast host delved into her highly publicized breakup with country music singer Zach Bryan. The two made their relationship public in the summer of 2023 and just over a year later, they called it quits in October of 2024. By January 2025, LaPaglia made her SI Swimsuit debut.

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

“I’m allowed to do what I want to do. I’m allowed to do it in any fashion [...] No one has the control over you to tell you what you can and cannot do,” LaPaglia declared. “For so long, I let someone else have that control. So this [cover], to me, isn’t just like, [a] check off the bucket list [...] This is, like, reclaiming myself, and that’s what this all means to me.”

LaPaglia’s online presence has continued to grow in the first five months of 2025, with 3.5 million combined Instagram and TikTok followers to date. She further delved into her relationship with her massive following as she continues to land big career opportunities such as SI Swimsuit.

“It just feels like such a strong bond that I have with people that I don’t even know,” LaPaglia continued. “Without those people, I don’t think I would be doing a Sports Illustrated [Swimsuit] cover.”

The 2025 SI Swimsuit magazine is available online now and at select newsstands on May 17. Order your copy here.

Meet the models at the exclusive SI Swimsuit Social Club this weekend. Secure your spot here.

Brianna LaPaglia Digital Cover. https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/v1736785940/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_swimsuit/01jhg84h9q33hfdswgr3.png. View the Full Gallery. https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/v1737066211/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_swimsuit/01jhrkdrxphw89jh66hw.webp. More Brianna LaPaglia. https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/v1737066522/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_swimsuit/01jhrkq9tzkgxzr5jrv8.webp. Read the Cover Story