Gayle King thought she was being "punked" when she was asked to pose for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover.

The 69-year-old TV star couldn't believe it when she was approached about starring in the Swimsuit Issue of the long-running magazine.

Gayle told PEOPLE: "Talk about stepping outside of your box. Honest to God, when they called me, I thought I was being punked. I did. I thought I was being punked."

Despite this, Gayle ultimately jumped at the opportunity to appear on the magazine cover.

She shared: "I've had so many women come up to me and say, that was so brave. Was it brave? I was just excited. That's what it was for me. To show you that it's 69 and feeling really fine."

Gayle is a long-time friend of TV icon Oprah Winfrey, and the 70-year-old star previously revealed that she turns to Gayle for "real therapy".

Oprah explained that she often turned to her friend for help and support, rather than a professional therapist.

Speaking in 2023, Oprah told PEOPLE: "I've never been to a therapist because I had so many on the show, but my real therapy came from downloading whatever was happening in the day with Gayle every night."

Oprah and Gayle also supported each other throughout the early years of their careers.

Oprah shared: "There wasn't a day that we missed being on some kind of phone call talking about what had happened in our days."

Oprah is now really grateful for Gayle's help and support.

She said: "I've had one of the best friendships anybody could have. And you can only do that when somebody cares as much about your success, your sadnesses, your triumphs as you do."