Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Kate Upton is shooting down rumors that she’s dating rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Buzz emerged Wednesday suggesting the pair were in a relationship after paps allegedly spotted them kissing at a recent event in Miami and enjoying dinner together in New York just last week. Upton’s camp moved quickly to squash the reports, telling The New York Daily News:
“They met once a year ago and there’s no further relationship at this point.”
Upton — who made her Sports Illustrated debut on the pages of the 2011 Swimsuit Issue — was previously romantically-linked to New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez. Diddy is reportedly locked in an on-again/off-again romance with Bad Boy recording artist Cassie.
Russian bombshell Irina Shayk, perhaps known as the resident armpiece of soccer sportsman Cristiano Ronaldo (whom she met while working on an Armani Exchange campaign), beat out a bevy of babes — including Jessica Gomes, Jessica White, and latest year’s yellow bikini-clad beauty Brooklyn Decker to take the highly-coveted cover on this year’s issue of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
Shayk hails from Yemanzhelinsk, a Russian village so tiny that it doesn’t show up on most maps. She made her SI swimsuit debut in 2007 and has appeared in every swimsuit edition since then.
Here she is: Miss Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Cover Model 2011! Russian-born 25-year-old Irina Shayk learned at a taping of CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman Mondy that she won the coveted spot as the 2011 Swimsuit Issue covergirl from a photoshoot in Hawaii several months ago.
She succeeds the 2010 cover model Brooklyn Decker.
Keeping up with tradition, the 2011 Sports Illustrated cover model will be revealed on CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman this Monday, Feb. 14. And in a new twist — 10 of the swimsuit models gracing the pages of this year’s issue will present the Top 10 List, with the identity of the cover model revealed later in the broadcast.
This year’s cover model will visit the Late Show for an interview with Letterman the following night.
