Martha Stewart Reacts to Critics of 'Sports Illustrated' Swimsuit Cover and Plastic Surgery Rumors

The 81-year-old lifestyle guru is the oldest model to appear on the cover of 'Sports Illustrated' Swimsuit issue.

Martha Stewart Reacts to Critics of 'Sports Illustrated' Swimsuit Cover and Plastic Surgery Rumors

Martha Stewart can promise you one thing -- she's all natural. Earlier this week, the businesswoman made history as the oldest woman to appear on the cover of Sport Illustrated's Swimsuit issue.

Although the home and garden guru has received much praise for her photo shoot, she admits that she's also been faced with some negativity.

"They’re very good," Stewart tells Variety about the feedback she has got via social media. "There are only a few naysayers saying, 'The pictures are over-retouched.' But they’re not. They are incredibly accurate pictures. I was really pleased that there was not much airbrushing."

Stewart pushes back against claims that she's had work down.

"Well, it’s not true," she states. "I’ve had absolutely no plastic surgery whatsoever. I have very healthy, good hair. I drink green juice every day. I take my vitamins. I eat very healthfully. I have very good skin doctors. I’m very careful in the sun. I wear hats and I wear sunblock every single day."

Stewart adds, "Every now and then there are certain fillers that I can do for a little line here or there, but I hate Botox. It’s a weird thing for me. I really and truly don’t do a lot."

In order to prepare for the spread, Stewart shared that she actually upped her Pilates to three times a week, watched what she ate and stopped drinking alcohol. The spread was worth it to her, as she's inspired other older women to consider shoots such as hers.

"It certainly has aroused an interest in many, many different places. I just got an email from Gayle King. She wrote, 'Congratulations, this is really great. You look stunning, and blah, blah, blah.' I wrote back to her, 'Next year is your year.' She wrote back, 'I would have never even considered that it would happen, but now?' That’s what’s happening. People are now reimagining their future," Stewart shares with Variety.

"And that’s what it’s all about. You can call upon the past but reimagining the future for yourself, for your family, for anybody is a very good thing right now, because of the chaos this word is in."

EXCLUSIVE: @MarthaStewart is one of the Sports Illustrated @SInow’s 2023 swimsuit cover models! pic.twitter.com/sXP05DsmJA

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) May 15, 2023

On Monday, Stewart stopped by the Today show to reveal her iconic cover, which also features fellow cover girls Megan Fox, Kim Petras and Brooks Nadar.

"To be on the cover at my age was a challenge and I think I met the challenge. I didn’t starve myself but I didn’t eat any bread or pasta for a couple of months, I went to Pilates every other day and that was great," said Stewart, who shot her spread in the Dominican Republic with Ruven Afanador. "It was kind of fun."

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