Lauren Chan’s DMs Look Very Different Since Her SI Swim Cover Launched

Chan’s DMs underwent a much-needed change once she graced the cover.

Lauren Chan was photographed by Ben Watts in Bermuda. Swimsuit by PQ Swim. Necklace by Andi Bagus. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

After dealing with haters voicing negative opinions about Lauren Chan, a plus-size model, appearing in SI Swimsuit, this brand staple had low expectations of what her DMs would look like after she landed on the cover this year. What she wasn’t prepared for was all of the positivity.

As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, Chan was overjoyed to see that, rather than annoying trolls filling up her messages, she received an outpouring of love and support.

“Oh my gosh! So many queer people have told be that they have bought a copy of SI Swimsuit for the first time ever, and that makes me extremely happy,” Chan told us during Swim Week in Miami, Fla. “It signals to me a shift in who this is for—who it can include rather. And who it could celebrate. And so, the response has been amazing. I have felt the response from exactly who I intended to speak to."

She added, “My DMs have changed. They’re not creepy men. They’re hilarious lesbians, so now I’m happy about that. I’m really happy about that."

Lauren Chan was photographed by Ben Watts in Bermuda. Dress by Natalia Fedner. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

Chan made her debut in SI Swimsuit in 2023 in the Dominican Republic, returning to the fold in 2024 with a shoot in Mexico, followed by her stunning cover shoot this year in Bermuda. During Swim Week in May, she modeled on the catwalk for the annual SI Swimsuit Runway Show.

Being an inspiration to the LGBTQIA+ community has been a goal for the three-time SI Swimsuit model, ensuring to walk in her purpose. After all, it’s her “why.”

“When I feel like I am doing something for a reason, especially beyond myself, I feel really strong in how I show up and what I say and who I represent and the community I’m able to build. And that’s why this is special,” Chan told SI Swimsuit, timed to her 2025 cover. “It’s not because it’s a pretty picture of me that I get to see on newsstands at the airport. Yeah, that’s wonderful, and my wife-to-be will be really excited every time we go to LaGuardia—but it’s special to me because of all that it means.”

Chan also wants to be a person that the younger version of herself needed to see years ago.

“When I was growing up, I didn’t know I was queer because there was next to no representation,” she added. “It was often not positive or it was so singular, so I feel like the specialness of this moment is taking a space that someone like me wouldn’t have been represented [in] before, and claiming it with pride.”

From coming out as a lesbian alongside her SI Swimsuit debut in 2023 to making history with her 2025 cover, Chan has a lot to be proud of.

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