Christie Brinkley, 70, reveals why posing for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit made her too self-conscious to wear a bathing suit 'in front of people' - and the area of her body she was most afraid to put on display

Christie Brinkley has revealed that being on the cover of Sports Illustrated at the age of 21 made her feel self-conscious about wearing a bathing suit 'in front of people' because she felt like she 'had to live up to people's expectations.'

The supermodel, who turned 70 in February, made her first appearance in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue back in 1975 and four years later, she appeared on three consecutive covers in 1979, 1980 and 1981.

During an appearance on Today with Hoda & Jenna on Tuesday, Christie opened up about the effect it had on her all those years ago and how she even perfected a 'routine' to ensure that people didn't catch a glimpse of her in her swimwear when she was on vacation.

'After doing Sports Illustrated, I did not want to be in a bathing suit in front of people because they perfect you and real life is real life, and I felt like I had to live up to people's expectations but it's impossible, you know?' she explained.

'I actually had a routine, I had the whole thing... the towel around the hips and the legs, I was sensitive about that area, you know? And I would drop it at the last second. I would plan my exit, so that somebody would bring a towel over to me, it's so silly.'

Christie Brinkley has opened up about why she didn't want to be seen in a bathing suit after modeling for Sports Illustrated

The supermodel first graced the Sports Illustrated magazine cover back in February 1979

Christie said she felt she had to 'live up to people's expectations' after modeling swimwear

The mother-of-three continued: 'That's something that goes by the wayside when you turn 70, it's like, "why am I trying to please everybody?"

'At 70, there is nothing to fear. It really is an amazing time because you kind of don't really care what other people think about you, you just have fun [and] you go about your day, I am just really enjoying it.'

Christie added: 'I think we think that people look at us more than they really are. You could go out with like a piece of scrambled egg on your chin and it would take a half a day before somebody mentioned it!' which made Hoda, 59, and Jenna, 42, burst out laughing.

When mother-of-two Hoda mentioned the fact that women are 'not seen as you get older', Christie agreed with her and replied: 'Absolutely, it's true. You notice that things start to change and you do start to slightly disappear.

'I think that it's up to us and our generation to change that because a lot of women my age are taking on new jobs, new careers, having passionate careers, something they've always wanted to do... and I think that also changes the perception of the number.

'We can't let the numbers define us, and our generation is definitely changing that,' the glamorous star added.

Christie is mom to daughters Alexa, 38, and Sailor, 25, and her son Jack, 28, and back in February 2017 she returned to Sports Illustrated - but this time she had her two girls in tow.

In an exclusive interview with People at the time, Christie explained that she had to think twice before agreeing to do the shoot.

The 70-year-old said she used to have a 'routine' to ensure other people didn't see her in her swimwear when she was younger

Now that she's 70, Christie said she doesn't really care what people think about her and her body

Christie claimed that 'at 70 there is nothing to fear' and she's more than happy posting swimwear shots on Instagram now

'My first thought was, "At my age? No way!" When I turned 30, I was like, "This is the last time I’m posing in a bathing suit!" 

''When this issue comes out, I’ll be 63. I thought, "Those days are over." But to get to do it with my girls, I thought, "One last go!"'

In the spread, the exquisite trio showed off their model bodies in matching black suits from the gorgeous beaches of Turks and Caicos. 

Christie is clearly very close with her daughters and recently revealed that she was diagnosed with cancer by chance because she decided to accompany Alexa on her visit to her dermatologist.

During her appearance on Today, she explained: 'I wasn't even scheduled for a check-up, I was accompanying my daughter to the dermatologist.

'I was in the room, and he had this little magnifying glass out, and he's looking at a couple of things that she was worried about,' she said.

'I thought, "There is that little spot right on the side of my head right here.... Should I say anything? It's not my appointment."

'Right at the very end... I said, "Before you put that away, do you think you could just look at this?"'

Christie, pictured here with her daughters Alexa and Sailor, has even modeled with them for Sports Illusrated

The blond star celebrated her 70th birthday in February at sea and showed off her figure in a red swimsuit

Christie revealed back in March that she'd had been diagnosed with a form of cancer called basal cell Carcinoma

The doctor then said, '"We've got to do a biopsy immediately. This is something." Then the biopsy came back (as) cancer,' Christie added.

The blond star first revealed in March via Instagram that doctors had found a basal cell carcinoma, one of the most common types of skin cancer, on the upper left side of her face.

'They took care of it, and luckily, my hair grows in that direction, but the scar is barely noticeable,' she said at the time.