Kate Upton is Elle’s first fall cover model, though the Florida native is still a fan of bikini weather. “[In] Florida, it’s all about being in bathing suits. It’s a different view of beauty there. You are ugly if you don’t have a curvy body,” Kate reveals in the September issue of Elle UK.

But the Sports Illustrated model didn’t always have the curvy body she has today. “When I first started modelling, I was a normal catalogue model. Then, I became a woman, and I was really excited about becoming a woman. I didn’t have [a curvy body], and then I got one, and thought, ‘Yessss!'”

Kate admits that she’s often confused when people praise her for maintaining a “healthy” figure in modeling, as opposed to her waif-thin counterparts. “People say: “Oh, wow, you’re healthy.” ‘And I’m like, “Wait – what? I’ve been begging for this body my whole life!”’ Kate says goal was to never be stick-thin, and she’s embracing her natural curves.

Would those natural curves ever lead to say, a Playboy cover? Kate says “never say never.” In an interview for GQ UK, Kate says, “I never like to say never because there are circumstances that I could do pretty much anything if it inspires me and if I think that it’s cool at the time. But right now, at this point in my career, I’m not doing Playboy.”

Kate also reveals that she’s rarely approached by men, but that she doesn’t think that’s her fault at all! “I consider myself an approachable person and I like meeting new people, so if [men] can’t approach me, I don’t think it’s an energy I’m putting out.” No, we’re sure men aren’t intimidated by you at all, Kate!

Image via Wikimedia Commons