Gayle King was utterly shocked when she received a surprise during CBS Mornings.
King learned that she officially landed on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.
It was unexpected for King, who received the big news from model Kate Upton during the morning program.
“It’s right here,” Upton said, handing King a copy of the magazine featuring her cover.
Upon seeing it, she raised both arms, screamed excitedly, clapped, and bounced up and down in her seat.
“I’m on the cover?” she asked amid more screaming, sharing that she thought she would only be featured “on the inside” of the magazine.
King didn’t believe her SI Swimsuit Issue cover
During the exciting televised moments, King’s co-host told her, “You are officially Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover girl.”
“Is that a dummy cover?” the 69-year-old CBS Mornings host asked to check if they were pranking her on TV.
“It’s real,” her co-host confirmed, and King asked if it would be available on the newsstand.
She was caught up in the moment as she clutched the magazine and looked over her first SI Swimsuit cover.
“SURPRISE: Our very own @gayleking is one of this year’s @si_swimsuit’s cover stars!” CBS Mornings’ Instagram caption said.
“I cannot get over it,” the IG caption claimed the host said in reacting to the news.
Cover model Hunter McGrady also appeared in the CBS Mornings segment, praising King and how “beautiful” her cover looked.
“That’s so inspiring to women of all ages. Like, ‘Yes girl, you did that!'” McGrady said.
King continued to look at the big screen image of her SI cover in amazement.
“How do you feel?” CBS Mornings co-host Nate Burleson asked King.
“I don’t even know what to say right now,” she said before the Instagram clip ended.
Below is the complete segment featuring Upton, McGrady, King, and the CBS Morning co-hosts.
King shared her exciting news with her kids
King shared an Instagram carousel post featuring several magazine photos wearing tasteful swimsuits.
“I’m having a pretty good day, how about you? Still on a @si_swimsuit high!” she wrote in her caption.
The IG post included a photo of King beside Upton and McGrady as all three women smiled while showing their magazine covers.
“Mom, that’s crazy! I love it!” King’s son, William Bumpus Jr., told her in a video clip after she shared the news with him.
In another video clip, she shared the cover news with her “favorite” daughter, Kirby, and son-in-law.
Friends and fans reacted to King’s exciting moment
Commenters flooded the CBS Mornings IG post to congratulate King on her achievement.
Former SI Swimsuit Issue cover models Brooklyn Decker and Ashley Graham were among the commenters.
The Oprah Daily IG page referred to it as “A. MOMENT!!!!!”
“Gayle!! You got your cover girl!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!!” Graham wrote.
“Yeahhhhhh!!!! It’s BEAUTIFUL,” Decker commented.
Fans also loved seeing the cover reveal and Gayle’s celebration of the big achievement.
“Watched live and cried happy tears for you!! So awesome!!” one fan commented, while another said King’s “reaction was priceless.”
“This gave me goosebumps!!! Congratulations @gayleking,” a commenter wrote.
“Can I be you this week?” a commenter asked, adding, “So much happiness & so many surprises!”
King appears on one of four covers for the magazine, which officially hits newsstands on Friday, May 17.
In addition, Upton, McGrady, and Chrissy Teigen are featured on the various covers of the 2024 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.