• Mandy Moore spoke out on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live on May 18, calling Ashley Tisdale’s viral mom group essay “very upsetting”
• Tisdale’s January Cut essay about leaving a “toxic mom group” was widely assumed to involve Moore, Hilary Duff, and Meghan Trainor
• Moore says the essay cut “to the core” because her identity is built on being a kind person
• She says she would have handled any falling-out with a face-to-face conversation, not a public essay
• Moore also opened up at The Breadwinner premiere about how much mom friendships have meant to her

Four months after Ashley Tisdale’s essay about leaving her “toxic mom group” took over the internet, Mandy Moore is finally ready to talk about it — and she’s not holding much back.

Appearing on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live on May 18, the This Is Us star addressed the drama that’s been swirling since Tisdale published “Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group” in The Cut back in January. The essay described feeling systematically excluded from a group of celebrity moms — and while Tisdale never named names, the internet connected the dots almost immediately, pointing to Moore, Hilary Duff, and Meghan Trainor based on years of shared social media moments.

Moore didn’t deny it.

“It’s wild to have anybody talk about your life, and I know Hilary has sort of mentioned this too,” she told Cohen. “It’s like we both have grown up in this business and had people dissect who we are and the choices we make and all of that, but this was something altogether different and decidedly way more upsetting. It just cuts to the core.”

For Moore, the sting wasn’t really about the gossip cycle. It was about something more personal — her sense of who she is.

“The most important thing in my life is being a kind person and like that legacy of kindness, and anyone even insinuating that that might not be the case, and with the company that I choose to keep, is very upsetting,” she said. “I’d say that was the biggest takeaway, sort of the shock of like, ‘Wow.'”

“I Wouldn’t Have Handled the Situation This Way”

Moore — who shares three children with her husband, musician Taylor Goldsmith — was candid about the fact that she and Tisdale simply would have approached things differently. She describes herself as someone who is “really scared by confrontation,” but when something genuinely matters to her, she’s a “huge proponent” of having it out face-to-face.

“It’s not always like the most comfortable of situations, but I think that’s where I sort of differed in feeling like I wouldn’t have handled the situation this way,” she said plainly.

What bothered her almost as much as the essay itself was the media frenzy that followed — and what she felt it implied about women.

“I think the biggest takeaway from that whole ridiculous debacle of like, ‘Wow, so it’s a real slow news day,’ is that I feel like it just sort of perpetuates this silly trope that women can’t be supportive of one another and that we’re inherently petty and that we’re inherently out to one-up each other,” Moore said. “And I have not felt that one iota since becoming a parent.”

She went further, pushing back on the narrative with something that clearly means a lot to her. “I’ve actually been so surprised by the meaningful relationships I found with other moms and other parents just in general. That has always been my takeaway, and you need that. You need community. You need to find that support wherever you can get it.”

What Tisdale Actually Wrote

Tisdale’s essay — which originally appeared on her personal blog as “You’re Allowed to Leave Your Mom Group” before being reworked for The Cut — described bonding with a group of working moms during the COVID-19 pandemic and the slow, painful unraveling of those friendships.

“I was starting to feel frozen out of the group, noticing every way that they seemed to exclude me,” she wrote. “I remember being left out of a couple of group hangs, and I knew about them because Instagram made sure it fed me every single photo and Instagram Story.”

She also revealed a pattern she’d noticed even before it happened to her: “During the early days of the group, there was another mom who often wasn’t included. I’d picked up on hints of a weird dynamic. Now it seemed that this group had a pattern of leaving someone out. And that someone had become me.”

Eventually, Tisdale sent a final text to the group: “This is too high school for me, and I don’t want to take part in it anymore.” She closed the essay with a message to other moms in similar situations: “You deserve to go through motherhood with people who actually, you know, like you.”

A rep for Tisdale spoke to TMZ shortly after publication to deny that the essay was specifically about Moore, Duff, or Trainor. But a source close to the group told PEOPLE exclusively that “it was a misalignment of values that Ashley decided to make public,” adding pointedly: “Friends naturally drift apart. It didn’t warrant a dramatic breakup text.”

Hilary Duff Has Already Weighed In

Moore isn’t the first from the suspected group to speak up. Duff addressed the essay on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy back in February, saying she was “pretty, pretty taken aback” and felt “really sad” reading it. “It sucks to read something that’s, like, not true,” she said. “And it sucks on behalf of six women in all of their lives.”

Duff also noted — with a touch of dry humor — that “I don’t really think people had to connect very many dots” to figure out she was among the moms being written about.

On the Therapuss podcast with Jake Shane, Duff spoke more broadly about her approach to friendship, saying she’s always had a sharp instinct for people. “I have really good friends, and it doesn’t take me long to figure someone out or just figure out that someone’s not for me,” she said. She added that she’d rather have a direct conversation than let resentment fester: “I just always want my side of the street to be clean.”

Duff’s husband, Matthew Koma, took a less diplomatic approach — he posted a photoshopped image of himself onto Tisdale’s body alongside a fictional The Cut headline reading: “When You’re The Most Self Obsessed Tone Deaf Person On Earth, Other Moms Tend To Shift Focus To Their Actual Toddlers.”

Moore Had Already Hinted at How She Felt

Even before her Andy Cohen Live appearance, Moore gave a glimpse of where her head was at. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight at the May 13 premiere of her new film The Breadwinner, she said she’s been genuinely “surprised” by the friendships she’s formed since becoming a mom.

“I think it is important for any parent to find community, and I feel really lucky and very surprised by the really meaningful adult relationships that I’ve made since becoming a mom,” she said. “Like, to be able to lean on other people who are going through very similar times in their life — everyone deserves that.”

Earlier this year, in a Glamour cover story on Duff, Moore spoke about the pair’s close friendship — one that began with a chance meeting in 2018 — and what it means to surround her kids with people whose values she trusts. “I feel exceedingly lucky that my kids happen to spend time with people that I feel like our values are aligned with,” she said. “The friends that I’ve made since becoming a parent are some of the deeper, more surprising friendships I’ve found as an adult.”

It’s a sentiment that feels like both a defense and a declaration. Whatever happened with Tisdale, Moore seems clear on what she believes about the women still in her corner.

The post Mandy Moore Breaks Silence on Ashley Tisdale Mom Group Drama appeared first on Cream.

• Hilary Duff makes her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit debut in the 2026 issue, photographed in South Caicos
• The 38-year-old mom of four appears on the cover alongside Alix Earle, Tiffany Haddish, and Nicole Williams English
• Duff called the experience “a little scary” but “incredibly empowering” with a mostly female crew on set
• She wore looks from SKIMS, Riot Swim, OYE Swimwear, Vitamin A, and Haight throughout the shoot
• The issue hits select newsstands May 14 and goes national May 26

Hilary Duff has officially arrived at her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit moment — and she looks absolutely incredible doing it.

The Lizzie McGuire alum, 38, makes her debut in the 2026 SI Swimsuit Issue, landing a cover spot alongside Alix Earle, Tiffany Haddish, and Nicole Williams English. Photographer Kat Irlin captured the entire shoot on location in South Caicos — a quiet, marine-rich island that gave the editorial its dreamy, coastal-escape feel. The issue hits select newsstands on May 14 and goes national on May 26.

For her cover shot, Duff struck a seated pose in powdery white sand, modeling a cream one-piece with a deep plunging neckline that dipped low down the center. Soft gathered fabric around the bust added just enough texture to keep the minimalist look from feeling flat. Her blonde hair fell in loose, tousled waves — sun-kissed and effortless — while bronzed skin, feathered brows, and a nude glossy lip completed the look.

On May 13, Duff shared a behind-the-scenes photo dump on Instagram, captioning the carousel “a make believe day with fairytale people.” The gallery quickly set off a frenzy in the comments.

The Looks That Had Everyone Talking

The shoot featured a range of bold and beautifully styled swimwear moments. One of the most-talked-about was a fully see-through white SKIMS ribbed top layered over a barely-there brown Riot Swim bikini — the sheer fabric clinging close to her body while the low-rise V-cut bottoms with gathered side detailing kept the whole thing feeling effortlessly island-ready. She posed barefoot on sunlit stone floors and near open windows, letting the natural light do the heavy lifting.

Another standout: a sculptural OYE Swimwear one-piece with black cutouts across the front and sides that gave the shoot a sharper, more editorial edge. She also wore a white bra top with sheer mesh panels paired with matching high-waist bikini bottoms — caught mid-laugh by the pool in a photo that fans couldn’t stop screenshotting — plus a deep brown string bikini set, and additional one-pieces from Vitamin A and Haight. Throughout it all, loose wet-look waves, smoky-neutral eyes, and tiny gold hoop earrings kept the styling grounded and cool.

Fans wasted no time flooding the comments. “Hot,” one user wrote simply. “Forever obsessed!” wrote another. A third added, “Looking better than ever Queen!” Over on X, at least one user appeared genuinely shocked, claiming the former Disney star has gotten “way hotter.”

‘I’m a Mom of Four, and I’m Not a Spring Chicken’

For all the stunning photos, what makes Duff’s SI moment feel different is what she said about getting there.

“I’m a mom of four, and I’m not a spring chicken,” she told Sports Illustrated. “So, of course, it was flattering. I don’t typically frolic around in a bathing suit, so it was a little scary, but it was also incredibly empowering. It was a mostly female crew on set, and it really felt like a celebration of women.”

That shift in perspective didn’t happen overnight. Duff has been open about her complicated relationship with her own body over the years, and she says she’s in a genuinely different headspace now.

“I can look at my body now and appreciate all the things it has done for me,” she said. “I no longer find that I am constantly comparing myself — and that is a better place to exist.”

It’s a sentiment that runs through everything she’s doing right now. Duff released her comeback album Luck… or Something earlier this year after an 11-year hiatus from music — and she’s been equally candid about the nerves that came with that. “Everyone has a way to tell you how they feel about what you make, and that felt scary,” she told Rolling Stone. “I was like, ‘Why would I subject myself to this? We have a happy life and amazing kids.’ But obviously, I miss performing, and I desperately miss having that person be in the forefront.”

That same intentionality is shaping how she approaches everything these days. “Rather than just saying yes to everything, I think a lot more about what I am doing — I’m intentional about what I do,” she explained. “Whatever I do, I try to think, Does this feel authentic? Does it resonate with my life? I no longer have to try things on for size or do things just because someone has asked me to. I do the things I want to do and I’m not afraid to be vocal about what does or doesn’t work for me — and it feels great.”

The SI debut arrives right in the middle of what’s shaping up to be a full-blown Hilary Duff renaissance — with her global Lucky Me Tour still ahead. “A make believe day with fairytale people” might have been the caption, but this one feels very, very real.

The post Hilary Duff Makes Her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Debut at 38 appeared first on Cream.

• Hilary Duff, Alix Earle, Tiffany Haddish, and Nicole Williams English are the four cover stars of the 2026 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
• Duff, 38 and a mom of four, called the shoot “a little scary” but “incredibly empowering” — her SI debut was photographed by Kat Irlin in South Caicos.
• The issue hits select newsstands May 14 and goes national May 26, featuring 34 women total.
• The cover comes during Duff’s major comeback year: her album luck… or something debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and her Lucky Me Tour kicks off May 22.
• Fellow cover stars Tiffany Haddish and Alix Earle also opened up about the personal significance of their SI debuts.

Hilary Duff has officially arrived — and she brought the beach with her. The former Disney Channel star and pop singer has landed her first-ever Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover, joining Alix Earle, Tiffany Haddish, and Nicole Williams English as the four faces of the 2026 issue, revealed Tuesday, May 12.

Photographed by Kat Irlin in the crystal-clear waters of South Caicos, Turks and Caicos, Duff, 38, stunned in a cream OYE Swimwear one-piece with a plunging neckline, halter straps, and a cheeky back — her blonde hair styled in loose, tousled waves, skin bronzed and glowing with Charlotte Tilbury makeup. The image is effortlessly coastal and completely striking.

And getting there wasn’t without nerves. “I’m a mom of four, and I’m not a spring chicken,” Duff told Sports Illustrated. “I don’t typically frolic around in a bathing suit, so it was a little scary. But it was also incredibly empowering. It was a mostly female crew on set, and it really felt like a celebration of women.”

She shares son Luca, 14, with ex-husband Mike Comrie, and three daughters — Banks, 7, Mae, 5, and Townes, 2 — with husband Matthew Koma, who also produced her new album. Four kids. One cover. And a whole lot of hard-won perspective.

“The amount of pressure I put on myself to look like other people was a lot,” she said. “I can look at my body now and appreciate all the things it has done for me. I no longer find that I am constantly comparing myself — and that is a better place to exist.”

It’s a sentiment that’s been years in the making. Back in 2017, Duff famously clapped back at body-shaming tabloids with an Instagram post: “I am posting this on behalf of young girls, women, and mothers of all ages. My body has given me the greatest gift of my life: Luca. Ladies, let’s be proud of what we’ve got and stop wasting precious time in the day wishing we were different, better, and unflawed.” And in 2022, she stripped down for the cover of Women’s Health, telling the magazine, “I’m proud of my body. I’m proud that it’s produced three children for me.” The SI cover feels like the natural next chapter of that story.

At the Time100 Gala earlier this year, she put it even more plainly: “I obviously grew up during that time when all of us were trying to disappear and be waifs, and that’s not natural for my body. Stronger, not smaller is a huge, impactful statement that resonates with me. I am strong, and I have muscles, and I’ve always been a gymnast. I used to be embarrassed of my strength and I just don’t need to be anymore.”

The Full Shoot: Every Look from South Caicos

The full editorial is a masterclass in understated beach glamour. Beyond the cover’s cream one-piece, Duff layered a fully sheer white SKIMS ribbed top over a barely-there brown Riot Swim bikini — posing barefoot on sunlit stone floors and near open windows in what she described on Instagram as “a make believe day with fairytale people.” The natural light did everything.

She also turned up in a red Vitamin A one-piece with a square neckline and spaghetti straps slipped off one shoulder, a black OYE Swimwear suit with sculptural crisscross cutouts at the chest, a black Vitamin A triangle bikini with an abs cutout, and a white OYE crop top with high-waisted bottoms. Loose, wet-look waves. Bronzed skin. Smoky-neutral eyes. Every look felt like her.

The reaction from the industry was immediate. SI model Brooks Nader dropped an “OMGGGG” in the comments. Brittany Mahomes sent a string of fire emojis. Hunter McGrady wrote, “THIS IS WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF!!!!!!!”

The Comeback That Made This Moment

The cover doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s the latest milestone in what has been a genuinely remarkable few months for Duff. Her sixth studio album, luck… or something — her first in over a decade, produced by husband Matthew Koma — dropped in February and debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. “I had my husband as producer and I made the music I wanted to make,” she told SI. “It represents who I am now, which is complicated and mature, but dressed in sequins.”

She also admitted that for a long time, she genuinely didn’t know if she’d ever record again. “People asked me for years when I’d make another album, and I always skirted around that question,” she said. “The truth is I didn’t really know if I ever would because I had never gotten to make an album the way I wanted to.”

Now she has. And the tour is next: three shows at The Voltaire in Las Vegas starting May 22, the official Lucky Me Tour launch on June 22 in West Palm Beach, and two sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden on August 5 and 6. The Lizzie McGuire era feels like a very long time ago.

The Other Cover Stars

Duff’s co-covers are just as compelling. Alix Earle, 25 — the New Jersey TikTok phenomenon with 1.6 billion likes on the platform — was shot by Ruven Afanador in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, wearing a gold string bikini by Andi Bagus. She found out she was getting a cover right after the January shoot wrapped, and managed to keep it secret for months. “I was determined to keep this a secret, just because me and all my friends have pretty big mouths,” she said on the Today Show. “Today, we finally get to tell everyone. I got to see it for the first time downstairs. I’m still in a state of shock right now.”

On the deeper meaning of the cover, Earle was characteristically honest: “I often feel like I am a big sister to my audience. I’m being honest and hopefully showing that it is OK to embrace exactly who you are. And that’s exactly what SI Swim does. It’s not about presenting this perfect picture. It celebrates women, not because they are flawless, but because they are fully themselves — the good, the bad, everything.”

Tiffany Haddish, 46, posed in a two-tone orange string bikini on a beach in Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico, photographed by James Macari. Her reaction to landing the cover was pure Haddish: “The first thing I thought was, I have to make sure my cuckoo doesn’t come out. Those bathing suits were itty bitty and I just was thinking, My booty is going to eat this up. I wanted to keep it classy.” But the moment carried real weight for the Emmy winner, who revealed that her grandmother was a swimsuit model and one of the first Black women to model clothing on television. “This little girl from south central L.A. is now a swimsuit model,” she said on Today. “I think it is gorgeous. I think it is everything that I’ve dreamed of since I was a little girl. I just wish my grandma was alive to see this.”

Nicole Williams English, 41, rounded out the covers, shot by Ben Watts in Montauk, New York. The Canadian model and TV personality has been chasing this particular dream for a long time. “For me, this is about more than being in a magazine,” she said. “I look back at my journey and I gave up time away from my family, I did schoolwork in hotel rooms, I worked nonstop. I believed in myself. I bet on myself — and that dream became a reality.”

The full 2026 issue features 34 women spanning sports, entertainment, and digital media — Olympic gold medalists, WNBA champions, and content creators among them. Ilona Maher, Olivia Dunne, Bethenny Frankel, Remi Bader, Napheesa Collier, Brooks Nader, and Jasmine Sanders are among those appearing inside.

SI Swimsuit editor-in-chief MJ Day framed the four cover stars as a statement about what the franchise has become. “Sports Illustrated Swimsuit is no longer just a single publication. It is a movement that celebrates self-acceptance, personal evolution and the boundless definition of beauty,” she wrote in her Editor’s Letter. “These women possess relevance, resilience and range that extend far beyond what the world expects of them. There is no expiration date. No rulebook. That evolution looks different for everyone, and that’s exactly what makes it powerful.”

The issue is available on swimsuit.si.com now, hits select newsstands May 14, and goes national May 26.

The post Hilary Duff Makes SI Swimsuit Cover Debut at 38 appeared first on Cream.

• Alix Earle, Tiffany Haddish, Hilary Duff and Nicole Williams English are the four cover models for the 2026 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
• The covers were revealed on TODAY on May 12, with the issue hitting newsstands May 14 in select markets and May 26 nationally
• Haddish said landing the cover has been a dream since childhood, with her grandmother being one of the first Black women to model clothing on television
• Hilary Duff opened up about body image struggles and how motherhood changed how she sees herself
• The issue features 34 women total, including Brooks Nader, Ilona Maher, Bethenny Frankel and more

The 2026 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue has arrived — and it looks like nothing you’d expect. Tiffany Haddish, Hilary Duff, Alix Earle and Nicole Williams English are the four cover stars this year, a lineup that spans comedy, Disney Channel nostalgia, TikTok royalty and high fashion in one fell swoop.

The covers were unveiled exclusively on TODAY on May 12, with each woman photographed in a different corner of the world — Botswana, South Caicos, Loreto in Baja California Sur, Mexico, and more. Earle was shot by photographer Ruven Afanador in a gold string bikini by Andi Bagus. Duff wore a cream one-piece by OYE Swimwear for her shoot in South Caicos, photographed by Kat Irlin. Haddish posed on a beach in Loreto in a two-tone orange string bikini by Slate Swim, shot by James Macari. Williams English was photographed by Ben Watts wearing Same swimwear.

Editor-in-Chief MJ Day was direct about the intention behind the choices. “Our four cover models — Hilary Duff, Alix Earle, Tiffany Haddish and Nicole Williams English — redefine what you might expect from the SI Swimsuit Issue, and that’s exactly what makes this moment so exciting,” she wrote. “The goal is never sameness. It’s the opposite. These women possess relevance, resilience and range that extend far beyond what the world expects of them.”

Tiffany Haddish: ‘This Little Girl From South Central L.A. Is Now a Swimsuit Model’

Of the four, Haddish’s reaction may have been the most visceral. The Emmy-winning comedian and actress — best known for the 2017 breakout Girls Trip — said landing the cover has been a lifelong dream, one rooted in family history. Her grandmother was a swimsuit model and one of the first Black women to model clothing on television.

“I think it is gorgeous. I think it is everything that I’ve dreamed of since I was a little girl,” Haddish, 46, said on TODAY.

In her Sports Illustrated cover interview, she went even further: “This little girl from south central L.A. is now a swimsuit model. If you believe in yourself enough, you can achieve anything.”

Haddish, who recently married herself during filming of her Peacock docuseries Tiffany Haddish Goes Off, also connected the cover to her ongoing self-discovery. “The things that made me happy last year don’t necessarily make me happy this year,” she said. “If you want to keep growing, you have to constantly be asking, ‘What makes me happy now?’ I want to keep growing, keep evolving, so I’ll keep doing that work.”

On the subject of romance, she was equally candid — and hilarious. When TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie asked if she was manifesting anyone now that the cover was out, Haddish didn’t hesitate. “Oh yes, I’m manifesting several dudes. We’ll see what happens.” She declined to name names, explaining, “I don’t wanna give out no names because I don’t want to scare the boys. I know how they get scared when they hear their name.”

She also confirmed on TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle that she dates widely — “The youngest one I believe is 35, and the oldest one is 83” — and summed up her philosophy with characteristic Haddish flair: “I’m in an open marriage, OK, with myself. We like to look at beautiful men. We love beautiful men over here. And sometimes ugly men with beautiful minds.”

She also couldn’t resist taking a playful shot at TODAY co-anchor Craig Melvin, who was fidgeting with his wedding ring during her segment. “Don’t be playing with your ring now, player,” she said. And she called out Carson Daly for ducking her in the hallway: “I flirted with him back in the early 2000s. He wasn’t ready. And it looks like he’s not ready now.”

Hilary Duff: ‘It Was a Celebration of Women’

For Hilary Duff, the shoot was personal in a different way. The 38-year-old mom of four has spoken openly about struggling with body image as a teenager, and the Sports Illustrated cover clearly meant something beyond a great photo.

“I’m a mom of four, and I’m not a spring chicken,” she told the magazine. “I don’t typically frolic around in a bathing suit, so it was a little scary. But it was also incredibly empowering. It was a mostly female crew on set, and it really felt like a celebration of women.”

She reflected on how far she’s come from the years she spent measuring herself against others. “The amount of pressure I put on myself to look like other people was a lot,” Duff said. “I can look at my body now and appreciate all the things it has done for me. I no longer find that I am constantly comparing myself — and that is a better place to exist.”

Alix Earle: 1.6 Billion Likes and Still Getting Uncomfortable

Alix Earle has 1.6 billion likes on TikTok and a platform built on radical honesty — so it tracks that her SI Swimsuit cover, shot in Botswana, leans into exactly that energy.

“I often feel like I am a big sister to my audience. I’m being honest and hopefully showing that it is OK to embrace exactly who you are,” Earle, 25, told Sports Illustrated. “And that’s exactly what SI Swim does. It’s not about presenting this perfect picture. It celebrates women, not because they are flawless, but because they are fully themselves — the good, the bad, everything.”

On TODAY, she was still processing the whole thing. “It has not settled in at all,” she said. “I can’t fathom it, it’s just so surreal and such an incredible dream. Just the shoot overall was so spectacular.”

She also pushed back, gently, on the idea that confidence is something you either have or you don’t. “In fact, I’d say that getting uncomfortable is how you start feeling more comfortable. I think that willingness to try — even if it’s something that scares you — is the only way to reach your full potential.”

A Bigger Issue Than Ever

The four cover stars are part of a larger roster of 34 women across film, sports, social media, fashion and business — what SI Swimsuit is calling one of its most expansive issues to date. Also appearing in the issue: Brooks Nader, Olympic rugby player Ilona Maher, Bethenny Frankel, Camille Kostek, Hannah Berner, Remi Bader and Olandria Carthen, among others. Several women in the issue hold Olympic gold medals and WNBA championships.

“From established supermodels to emerging digital creators, this year’s cast reflects the full spectrum of modern femininity,” the magazine said.

To celebrate the release, several cover stars headed to New York City to light the Empire State Building, and SI Swimsuit hosted an exclusive pop-up event called the Social Club. The issue is available now on swimsuit.si.com and across digital platforms, with print copies available in select markets May 14 and nationally on May 26.

Day’s note on Haddish may be the one that sticks: “Tiffany’s deeply human story rooted in joy and honesty.” For a woman who once dreamed of this moment as a little girl in south central L.A., that feels exactly right.

The post Alix Earle, Tiffany Haddish & Hilary Duff Cover SI Swimsuit 2026 appeared first on Cream.

• Alix Earle is one of four 2026 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover models, alongside Hilary Duff, Tiffany Haddish, and Nicole Williams English
• Earle’s cover shoot took place on safari in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, photographed by Ruven Afanador
• The covers were revealed exclusively on TODAY on May 11, with the issue available digitally now and in print starting May 14
• This marks Earle’s second major SI Swimsuit milestone — she made history as the magazine’s first digital cover star back in June 2024
• The 2026 issue features 34 women total, including Brooks Nader, Ilona Maher, Bethenny Frankel, and Camille Kostek

Alix Earle has officially made the leap from TikTok’s most-followed it-girl to Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover star. The influencer-turned-entrepreneur was revealed Tuesday as one of four cover models for the 2026 SI Swimsuit issue, joining singer Hilary Duff, comedian Tiffany Haddish, and model Nicole Williams English for what the magazine is calling one of its most expansive issues to date.

Earle’s shoot took her somewhere truly extraordinary — the Okavango Delta in Botswana, where she posed in a series of tiny bikinis against the backdrop of one of Africa’s most breathtaking safari landscapes. The location, which spans Stanley’s Camp and Baines’ Lodge along the Boro River at the edge of the Moremi Game Reserve, is home to 9,000 species of flora and fauna, with lions, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, and zebras roaming freely nearby. Photographer Ruven Afanador captured Earle in swimwear by Andi Bagus, and the results are exactly as stunning as you’d expect.

“I feel such an honor and it’s such a privilege to be a Sports Illustrated cover model,” Earle said in a behind-the-scenes video from the shoot. “It was the best day of my life!”

She’s in New York City this week for the issue’s launch — and she won’t be the only cover star in town. Several of the women will light up the Empire State Building in honor of the release, and SI Swimsuit is hosting an exclusive pop-up called the Social Club. The issue is available now on swimsuit.si.com and across digital platforms, with print copies hitting some markets May 14 and rolling out nationally May 26.

From Digital Pioneer to Full Cover Star

This isn’t Earle’s first time turning heads for SI Swimsuit. In June 2024, she made history as the magazine’s first-ever digital cover star, posing for two shoots in Miami. Tuesday’s announcement makes her a full cover model — a natural next step for someone who has spent the last two years becoming one of the most recognizable faces in the influencer world.

SI Swimsuit Editor-in-Chief MJ Day was effusive about what each of the four cover stars brings to the issue. “From Tiffany’s deeply human story rooted in joy and honesty, to Alix’s evolution of access into influence, to Nicole’s commitment to authentic growth and Hilary’s quiet reinvention marked by confidence, humor and grace,” Day said. “Together, they represent the power of embracing every chapter.”

The other cover shoots were equally globe-spanning: Duff, photographed by Kat Irlin in OYE Swimwear, shot in Montauk; Haddish, photographed by James Macari in Slate Swim, shot in South Caicos; and Williams English, photographed by Ben Watts in Same swimwear, shot along the coastline of Fort Myers, Florida. Additional locations for the broader issue included Loreto and Baja California Sur in Mexico.

Beyond the four cover stars, the 2026 issue features 34 women total drawn from film, sports, social media, fashion, and business — a roster that includes Olympic gold medalists, WNBA champions, Brooks Nader, Ilona Maher, Bethenny Frankel, Hannah Berner, Remi Bader, Camille Kostek (who also shot in Botswana), and Olandria Carthen, among others. “The 2026 issue continues SI Swimsuit’s tradition of celebrating women at every stage of their lives and careers, with body diversity, inclusivity and authentic representation at the heart of every creative decision,” the magazine said.

A Big Year for Earle Off the Pages, Too

The SI cover lands at a particularly busy moment for Earle. She recently launched her skincare brand Reale Actives, and she has an unscripted reality show coming to Netflix later this year. Off-screen, she’s been making headlines of a different kind after being spotted getting cozy with Tom Brady at a New Year’s party in St. Barths — her first high-profile link-up since her split from ex-boyfriend Braxton Berrios, a wide receiver and return specialist for the Texans, after two years together.

Day put it simply: there’s “no single blueprint for success or happiness” — and if Earle’s trajectory is any indication, she’s writing her own.

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