These BTS Pics of Ilona Maher’s 2025 SI Swim Shoot Still Live Rent Free in Our Heads

We won’t be able to stop thinking about these snapshots anytime soon.

Ilona Maher was photographed by Ben Watts in Bermuda. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

Ilona Maher gave her Instagram followers a friendly “reminder” of her second SI Swimsuit shoot on Monday, and we’re just as obsessed as we were when it hit newsstands, three months ago.

The post featured a three-slide carousel of the model in Bermuda. She touched down on the island for her first in-print appearance with the brand, following her debut cover back in September 2024.

View Maher’s post here!

Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

“I’m so glad I was alive at the same time as you to witness this,” one user penned in the post’s comment section.

“THANK YOU FROM EVERY WOMAN ON EARTH,” another commenter declared.

“During work on a Monday?! Brb taking sick leave to recover 😍🥵,” one fan added.

Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

View Maher’s full gallery from Bermuda here.

All three snapshots were captured by photographer Ben Watts, who touched down on the island with Maher for her animal-print-styled photo shoot. The photographer shared a handful of the Olympic athlete’s looks to his own feed, as well.

Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

On the set, Maher joined fellow SI Swimsuit model Ellie Thumann for shoot day as her older sister, Olivia Maher, cheered her on in support. Following the issue’s launch, the duo gave fans some behind the scenes insight from their time on the island in an episode of their podcast, House of Maher—hosted alongside fellow Maher sister, Adrianna.

“The way you guys were chatting and kind of bonding all day was so great, and then you were posing together at the end there, and I was like, ’Those are two models,’” Olivia said on Thumann and Maher’s dynamic. “Like, the way the two of you look, the energy you’re putting out into the world—I was like, ’Those are models.’ It was so special to watch.”

Olivia and Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ilona agreed, adding, “What I love is that our bodies are so different. That’s what I’m always trying to, you know, preach is that I’m never gonna look like Ellie. I’m never gonna be thin like that. I don’t have the frame like that, you know? She’s supposed to be that size. I’m supposed to be this size.”

The model’s sentiment mirrors a similar note, which she scribed to Instagram along with a video of the duo on the coastline, laughing alongside Thumann in their first shoot together. “Both of our bodies do amazing things for us, and neither is more important or better than the other. Surround yourself with women who uplift you and praise your differences. The world would be a pretty boring place if we all looked the same.”

Ellie Thumann and Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Check out more behind the scenes snapshots from Ben Watts below!

Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Olivia and Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ellie Thumann and Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ilona Maher and Achieng Agutu / Ben Watts

Ellie Thumann and Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Olivia and Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ilona Maher and the SI Swimsuit team / Ben Watts

Ellie Thumann and Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Olivia and Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ellie Thumann and Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ellie Thumann and Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ilona Maher and the SI Swimsuit team / Ben Watts

Ellie Thumann and Ilona Maher / Ben Watts

Ilona Maher, Ellie Thumann and the SI Swimsuit team / Ben Watts

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