Kate Upton admits during Sports Illustrated photoshoot her body 'shut down' (Video)

Sports Illustrated cover girl Kate Upton stunned during her Antarctica photoshoot, and although she was forced to keep the spread under wraps, the model beauty now reveals that her body “shut down” during the photo op.

Reuters reports that 20-year-old Upton opened up about the photo shoot during an interview with Today show. “It was freezing. I'm from Florida, so it wasn't easy for me.”

Continuing she notes, "When I came back, I was losing my hearing and eyesight. My body was shutting down because it was working so hard to keep me warm."

Although the magazine went on sale officially Tuesday, the cover was leaked days ago.

At the time of the sexy shoot, which Upton donned tiny white bikini bottoms a parka and nothing else, the weather in Antarctica was 35 below zero.

Reuters notes that M.J. Day, senior editor for Sports Illustrated, explained, “We should name a passageway after her down there. She braved six days in a bikini while we were head-to-toe in jackets ... No one will ever accuse her of being a whiny model, ever."

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image: SI