The coverage of the issue leaked on Twitter Feb. 14, via the user Rana Wardlaw, before being revealed during the broadcast of David Letterman that night.
Irina Shayk, walking in the footsteps of Brooklyn Decker who was on the cover last year, told Letterman: “There were 10 models there to do the Top 10 List, and nobody knows until the last minute who the cover will be. And then I saw it, and I couldn’t believe it.”
The photo session was held in Hawaii and the Philippines. The Swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated is eagerly awaited each year and has even launched the careers of many supermodels, including Tyra Banks.