The W South Beach in Miami was buzzing on May 31, 2025, ready for a huge moment. Olivia Dunne, the LSU gymnastics sensation who’d become an SI Swimsuit cover model, was about to step onto the runway for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit show. It was a massive event during Miami Swim Week, and fresh off her 2025 SI Swimsuit cover with legends like Salma Hayek, the 22-year-old was set to open the show. This was a dream come true, a big leap from the gymnastics mat to the modeling world. Her hotel room was alive with excitement—outfits ready, schedule set. But then, something unexpected almost ruined everything.
Olivia, an NCAA champion with a whopping 12 million social media followers, suddenly faced every traveler’s worst nightmare: she locked herself out of her hotel room. With only 30 minutes left to catch her flight to Miami, the pressure was immense. This wasn’t just any event; it was her very first time on a major runway, a chance to establish herself in the modeling world. The clock was ticking, and panic started to set in.
Sharing a photo of herself on Snapchat, she can be seen sitting in front of the hotel room door with the caption, “I literally have to be on the runway in 30 mins and I locked myself out of my room.” The lockout was a total shock. Olivia, usually so composed under pressure from intense SEC meetings, quickly scrambled for a solution. That 30-minute window was incredibly tight—any delay could have meant missing her flight and her spot on the runway.
Yet, her sheer grit, honed from years of pushing through injuries like a fractured kneecap during her SI shoot, got her through. And guess what! In her stunning 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit shoot in Bermuda, Olivia Dunne shone as a first-time cover model, photographed by Ben Watts. The former LSU gymnast rocked a leopard-print leather bikini by Tropic of C and a zebra-print asymmetrical one-piece by Reina Olga, styled with a backward ’47 Brand baseball cap, Ettika necklaces, and VADA sunglasses.
She also wore a strapless zebra-print monokini by Andi Bagus paired with a MONSE shirt and a vibrant Lybethras swimsuit with a Streets Ahead belt, embracing the shoot’s bold, colorful vibe. Despite nursing a fractured kneecap, Dunne delivered dynamic poses, including kneeling in shallow water for the cover shot, which she shared on Instagram.
The caption, “I AM A SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SWIM COVER MODEL!🩵” The Bermuda backdrop amplified her athletic grace, marking a pivotal moment in her transition from gymnastics to modeling stardom. Well, apart from all this glamor, Olivia encountered a horrific incident at the airport.
Olivia Dunne suffered a chilling airport situation
Olivia Dunne, the incredibly popular former LSU gymnast and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover star, recently shared a truly terrifying experience at an airport on May 30, 2025. The 22-year-old, who boasts over 8 million followers on TikTok, posted a tearful video revealing how groups of middle-aged men relentlessly pursue her for autographs.
“I fear that I’m being stalked, and I don’t know what to do,” she confided, explaining that these men, often carrying stacks of 40 photos, track her flights, even to remote cities like Omaha. This unsettling harassment escalates to men chasing her through TSA PreCheck lines and yelling if she doesn’t sign. Her TikTok, captioned “They know time, place, airport, everything!!!,” showed her in tears after a red-eye flight, with men circling her at baggage claim.
This isn’t an isolated incident; tennis star Coco Gauff and sprinter Gabby Thomas have reported similar experiences, with Gauff even suggesting airport insiders might be tipping off these individuals. Olivia’s raw vulnerability deeply resonated, echoing her 2023 decision to take online classes at LSU for safety reasons.
Despite her remarkable resilience, from posing with a fractured kneecap for SI to dazzling at Miami Swim Week, these encounters expose a darker side of fame, highlighting the urgent need to protect athletes from such intrusive and frightening behavior.
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