Last time we heard from Kate Upton, she defended her fiance Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers in the most ride-or-die way possible. Upton is returning to the spotlight on her own as she makes the Sports Illustrated cover for the third time. Not many have done that, and she’s become the face of swimsuit modeling of the last five or six years whether you’re a fan of her or not. She has a great reach of fans hence why she’s a cover girl again.

Welcome back, Kate! 👙 😍 https://t.co/w9Lho2Yb7E pic.twitter.com/fwcfhM0f6q

— SI Swimsuit (@SI_Swimsuit) February 15, 2017

Look at Upton’s social media numbers if you’re curious why she made a cover for the third time. She has 4.1 million Instagram followers, 2.29 million Twitter followers and 2.6 million on Facebook. Those are crazy numbers for anyone in social media space. She and Chrissy Teigen, who returns to swimsuit modeling in this issue, are the two most recognizable models in the industry today. Sports Illustrated could make a splash with a no-name beautiful woman, but the impact of her turning heads will not be the same as Upton.

Upton has always been a favorite of mine, and today doesn’t change that.

Charlie.