Lauren Chan Says Her History-Making SI Swimsuit Cover Feature Is Her ‘Proudest Achievement’

The three-time brand star posed in Bermuda for her 2025 feature.

Lauren Chan was photographed by Ben Watts in Bermuda. Swimsuit by Mare Perpetua. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

Lauren Chan celebrated the launch of the 2025 SI Swimsuit issue last night, and she naturally had a little extra glow and aura around her, both as a cover girl and newly-engaged model! The three-time brand star, who made her debut in the Dominican Republic in 2023, returned to the fold, posing in Mexico last year.

Lauren Chan was photographed by Ben Watts in Bermuda. Swimsuit by Beach Riot. Earrings by JéBlanc. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

This year, she traveled to Bermuda with photographer Ben Watts for the most breathtaking, angelic beachside shoot that landed her on the front of the 2025 issue, joining fellow cover stars, Salma Hayek Pinault, Olivia Dunne and Jordan Chiles

We caught up with the 33-year-old on the carpet last night ahead of the official launch party at the Hard Rock Hotel New York, and we asked her what the moment has felt like. The former Henning founder candidly admitted that it hasn’t sunk in yet, but when it does, there will certainly be waterworks.

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

“I’m speechless. So many people on the team, who are like family now, have asked me, ‘When are you going to cry?’ And I’m waiting for it, too,” Chan shared. “I’m waiting for the shoe to drop, and I know when it does, it’s really gonna come on, but I’m trying to keep it together.”

Lauren Chan was photographed by Ben Watts in Bermuda. Swimsuit by Vitamin A. Coverup by Norma Kamali. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

The former Glamour editor is also well aware of what a big turning point in media and culture her cover moment is.

“I am so proud to be the first lesbian cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, because this is the representation that maybe if I had when I was younger, I would have come out sooner, and that means that I would have had been able to built a life that was more fulfilling to me sooner and to lead by example sooner,” she shared with tears forming in her eyes. “I hope that I am doing that for at least one person out there. It’s my proudest achievement.”

Lauren Chan was photographed by Ben Watts in Bermuda. Swimsuit by SUNCILLO. Necklace by Presley Oldham. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

Chan’s story with SI Swimsuit is anything but ordinary. Her 2023 debut with the magazine came alongside a personal essay in which she came out to the world, just a few months after an amicable divorce with her ex-husband.

“It means so much to me, personally, for this to happen this year, because I came out with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in 2023. I was really scared. I was really vulnerable. And I know I put on a brave face, because I was motivated by the message that it provided. But on the inside, I am a person, and I want to be loved. And so it’s really special to have arrived in my full self two years later [and] be engaged, [and] celebrate that [and my cover] in one go.”

She added that most of her daring looks on location were white and giving “bridal”—almost as if SI Swimsuit secretly knew she would be entering her fiancée era this year.

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

Chan and Hayley Kosan got engaged in March just a few weeks before she headed to Bermuda. Kosan was the first person Chan called when editor in chief MJ day surprised her with the news of her cover earlier this month.

“We were on FaceTime, and she fell to the floor,” Chan reveals. “I actually wished that I had pulled
an MJ-level surprise on her. I wish that I didn’t call her and I left the cover out on the table after she, like, got out of the shower, and I was just like, in my room typing away on my laptop. But I guess I’ll have to get another cover to surprise her again.”

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

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