Sarah Nicole Landry didn't get the call to appear in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. At 40, she's going to 'keep working' to get there

Yahoo

8 hours ago

The Canadian content creator known online as "The Birds Papaya" spoke to Yahoo Canada about chasing her dreams, turning 40 and more.
Sarah Nicole Landry was particularly contemplative when she celebrated a milestone birthday this past New Year's Eve. Landry began her 30s as a newly-divorced single mom living with her parents and working two jobs to provide for her three children. On Dec. 31, 2024, she celebrated her 40th birthday with her husband Shane, her now teenage children and her fourth child, whom she gave birth to in 2021.
The change in family structure on its own is a major transformation, but in the midst of rebuilding her life, Landry became one of the country's most successful content creators — with millions of followers across social media platforms.
'When I turned 40 I decided to actually sit down and say goodbye to my 30s. It was an incredibly emotional process,' Landry said in a recent interview with Yahoo Canada.
The Guelph, Ont. native, known online to many as 'The Birds Papaya' made sure to take stock of her personal and professional accomplishments. On her birthday, Landry shared a series of photos to Instagram including a black and white nude portrait of herself holding 40th birthday candles. She included what can be interpreted as a farewell and thank you letter to the last decade.
'The 30s changed my life,' she wrote. 'The 30s saved my life.'
Keep reading to learn more from Landry about turning 40, her dream of appearing in SI Swimsuit and more.
A rookie turned pro
Despite getting married at 19 and becoming a mother in her 20s, Landry said it was a very 'raw, rookie version of adulthood.' She found herself in unknown waters in her 30s. There were moments that tested her limits but, as they say, a smooth sea never made for a skilled sailor.
'Forty feels like the training wheels are off…,' Landry said. 'I really spent a lot of my 20s and 30s being so afraid of how I was going to be perceived — and I still am. But there is so much more peace now in understanding that you can't do anything or step forward in life unless you're willing to do it uncomfortably, cringey and without having all the answers.'
Landry is determined to push her own boundaries for what she once thought 40 would feel like and look like.
'I've applied for opportunities that are what most people apply for in their 20s,' she said. 'Why wouldn't I? There's more things to do and places that I can continue striving towards.'A goal within reach
In June 2024, Landry walked in Sports Illustrated's fashion show during Miami Swim Week. She considers it to be one of her 'proudest moments' to be able to represent women with stomachs similar to hers. She had applied many times to be a part of SI Swimsuit, she hoped that her appearance on the runway meant she was one step closer to her dream. But when it came time to cast the new issue, she didn't receive a call.
Landry said she had to do a 'lot of work' to process her feelings of not making the magazine, but remained determined to support her friends, including Canadian model Lauren Chan, who became the first openly gay woman to appear on the cover.
She travelled to New York in May to attend the magazine's launch party — wearing a black dress with sheer lace bodice. The look earned criticism online, which Landry expertly dismissed. The look was meant to be an 'artistic interpretation' of women's bodies and intentionally showed off her belly button without shapewear.
'I taped my stomach down as a teenager,' she explained. 'I know that people could look at me and go, 'You know you really could have used some shapewear there.' The 16-year-old me really could have used not taping her stomach. So, it's not really about them. Sometimes it's about me. It's like moving forward in a healing way knowing that someone younger won't see a belly like theirs if we're all walking around in shapewear. And [shapewear is] OK, but they won't see it if it's constantly covered or disguised.'
Despite not making the magazine in 2025, Landry remains determined to keep trying.
"I don't want to squash a dream because I heard 'no.' We're going to hear no in our life and be rejected," she said. "For the longest time, I didn't even tell people I was applying for Sports Illustrated because then the world would know that I wasn't chosen....In the last year, I'm getting rid of some of that inner turmoil and noise that it's 'embarrassing' that I wasn't chosen. Instead, it's embarrassing if I didn't try. ... I still believe that there's a possibility. I still believe that there is more to do and I'm going to keep working for it."
Let's hear it for the boy(s)
Although people — many of them men — criticize her body online, Landry has received messages of thanks from some of her followers' husbands. They'll reach out to say they've noticed a change in their partner's confidence, whether it's wearing a bathing suit or choosing to be intimate again. Many will add, "I think you have something to do with that."
"I've heard this several times, dozens of these messages and these are men who love these women and wish they could see how beautiful they are," she said.
Landry credits her own husband, Shane, for loving her at all sizes.
"I don't think he's ever really commented on my body. He's seen me [fluctuate] a good 60 pounds in weight and he's never acted differently and he's never commented differently. He's always been loving and supportive."
The good, the bad and the ugly comments
Landry has heard every kind of praise and criticism during her 17 years as a content creator. While some people opt to message her directly, many leave hurtful comments for her audience to see — and she'll delete it.
"I'm trying to create a safe space for people to show up in their lives no matter what they look like —and that includes myself," she explained. "Safeguarding myself from some of the negative comments that I see out there… I don't want to hear that today and I don't want somebody else to read that comment, either. That's not for us."
Landry is acutely aware that there are some people online who feel entitled to police and monitor bodies. It's similar to people demanding answers when influencers lose a significant amount of weight and simultaneously receive both praise for becoming slimmer and persecution for allegedly using GLP-1s. For Landry, if it's a losing game to please every one, why even try?
"In the span of 30 seconds I'll be called lazy, unhealthy — terrible things about my body — ugly, whatever," she said. "At the same time, 'Are you on injections? Are you losing weight?… The whiplash of it makes me think 'God, we're never going to win.'"
Despite her success and body acceptance message, Landry said she's offered "mommy makeovers" several times a year. Although she has no qualms with anyone opting for surgery, she often thinks of a survey from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons which says that 62 per cent of women would opt for a mommy makeover if they could afford it.
"If more than 60 per cent of mothers want that surgery and can't afford it, what does that mean for them right now?" Landry said adding that she feels "generally ok" in her body. "I want to show up for the more than 60 per cent who can't afford them and still deserve to fully show up in their lives. I'm not doing it as a martyr. I just know that there is love, confidence and a beautiful life… there's all of those things still available and still possible even if it's rare."