Swimsuit

Hunter McGrady Opens Up About What It Was Like to Model Six Months Postpartum

The SI Swimsuit veteran spoke with Camille Kostek at launch week.

Ananya Panchal

Hunter McGrady

Hunter McGrady

What’s better than an SI Swimsuit model interview? One model interviewing another.

Earlier this year Hunter McGrady chatted with Camille Kostek at the 2022 launch week celebration about what it was like to return and shoot for the issue this year. McGrady welcomed her first baby boy with husband Brian Keys in June ’21.

“Hunter has been somebody who is a champion for all walks of life, especially us women who are still trying to navigate the issue,” Kostek said. “I was a rookie when we met [in 2019] and I was still learning so much about the brand.”

Kostek explained that at SI Swimsuit, everyone is friends and you don't know a rookie from a veteran like McGrady, who first appeared in the magazine in 2017.

“You would have thought we were besties from the beginning,” Kostek added. “She just took me under the wing.”

Kostek asked McGrady what it was like to return this year and what it meant to the 29-year-old new mom.

Being the confident queen that she is and knowing that all bodies are bikini bodies, shooting six months postpartum was NBD for McGrady.

“[SI Swimsuit editor in chief] MJ [Day} texted me and she was like, ‘Listen, you don’t have to say yes, you don’t have to do it.’ And I was like, ‘Hell yeah I’m gonna do it.’”

You can view the 2022 photo shoot for Hunter McGrady here.

“I want to put on a swimsuit no matter what my body looks like and show women who are out there that just because we’re moms, it doesn’t mean that we’re not sexy anymore,” she continued. “It doesn’t mean that we are less than. Like we can (still) rock a swimsuit.”

“Wear the damn swimsuit,” McGrady finished, and Kostek cheered, “I love this.”

McGrady announced in September that she is pregnant with her second baby. She shared an adorable video on Instagram of her surprising her family members with the exciting news.

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Ananya Panchal
ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a writer on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit. Before joining SI Swimsuit in 2022, she worked at Bustle, the San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. When she is not writing or doom-scrolling on social media, Panchal can be found playing sudoku, rewatching One Tree Hill or trying new restaurants. She's also a coffee and chocolate (separately) enthusiast. Panchal has a bachelor’s in communications and journalism from Boston University.

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