"I'm not here to be used" - When Justin Verlander's wife Kate Upton 'felt terrible' after first big magazine cover appearance

It all might appear full-on glamor when it comes to the modeling world, but behind the scenes, there comes a harsh reality of how society perceives. Who better to know from than Justin Verlander's wife and supermodel Kate Upton.

Upton has appeared on the covers of several magazines, most notably for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue not once, not twice but four times in 2012, 2013, 2017 and 2024.

It was after her first appearance on the SI cover that she gave a reality check on how society sees models. She shared her viewpoint during an interview with Elle magazine in Aug. 2013.

“After my first Sports Illustrated cover, I felt terrible about myself for a solid month," Upton said. "Every single guy I met was either married or about to be married, and I felt like I was their bachelor present or something.”

"I’m not a toy, I’m a human. I’m not here to be used. I am a grown woman, and you need to figure your s--- out," Upton added. "People deal with models like they are children," she says. "They think they can pull one over on you. It’s actually funny."

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Kate Upton once voiced her bold opinion about voters who didn't name Justin Verlander Cy Young winner in 2016

Kate Upton has always been bold whether it comes to her opinion of the fashion world or the MLB world. In 2016. the AL Cy Young race saw a fierce result between then-Boston Red Sox ace Rick Porcello and then-Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander.

Porcello wins the voting results by the barest of margins, resulting in a snub for Verlander. Upon learning the results of the voting, Upton, who was Verlander's fiancee at the time, targeted the Baseball Writers Association of America.

"Hey MLB, I thought I was the only person allowed to f*** Justin Verlander?! What two writers didn’t have him on their ballot?" Upton said.

She followed this tweet with another tweet targeting two voters who didn't have Verlander on their voting ballot.

"He had the majority of first place votes and two writers didn’t have him on their ballots?!! Can you pick more out of touch people to vote?” she wrote.

Kate Upton also didn't leave the 2016 Cy Young winner, Rick Porcello, saying her husband deserved to win.

"Sorry Rick but you didn't get any 1st place votes? You didn't win. Bye Felicia @MLB keep up with the times and fire those writers," she tweeted.

In 2016, Verlander finished with a 16–9 record while recording 254 strikeouts along with an ERA of 3.04.