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Jena Sims is hoping to score big.
The former Miss Teen USA is a top 12 finalist for the 2023 SI Swim Search. Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s annual casting call, which receives thousands of submissions from hopeful models, aims to discover its newest star.
Jena Sims, left, has collaborated with OneOne Swimwear to design swimsuits that fit a variety of body types. (Shaye Babb)
“I just remember seeing Tyra [Banks] on the cover in the late ‘90s,” the 34-year-old told Fox News Digital. “I remember looking at her and going, ‘Wow, she’s so beautiful.’… And Tyra has since gone on to have an amazing career… I found that the SI Swim Search is a positive and safe environment. I just feel welcomed and honored to even be a part of it.”
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Jena Sims is a finalist in this year’s SI Swim Search. (Veronica Sams)
Sims did not even have to tell her husband, pro golfer Brooks Koepka, that she made the cut. He was right there when the “Sharknado” actress got the news.
“We were on our way to a dinner,” Sims recalled. “And I was doing the navigation. I was playing DJ on my phone. I had a million things going on, and I checked my email. In the middle of all this chaos, I just see in the subject line, ‘SI Swim Search Top 12 Finalists.’ I’m still so shocked. You’re much closer to your biggest dream… [But] it was just the two of us, so I didn’t have to call him to tell him the news. He wasn’t on a golf course somewhere… I said, ‘Oh my God,’ in one word.”
“He just said, ‘Congratulations, I’m so proud of you, now what’s our gate code?’” Sims chuckled.
Jena Sims won her first pageant in 2005. (Veronica Sams)
The original swimsuit issue ran in 1964. It has since been a launching pad for models like Kathy Ireland, Christie Brinkley, Elle Macpherson, Kate Upton and Ashley Graham.
Sims credited Koepka, 32, for encouraging her to make a splash. The couple got married in June 2022 after five years of dating.
“He’s so supportive,” Sims gushed about her longtime love. “I think that’s why our relationship is so successful because I’m supportive of his hopes and dreams. And he’s so interested in everything that I have going on, which couldn’t be further from what he has going on.”
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Jena Sims and Brooks Koepka got married in 2022. (Melissa Marshall)
Sims first met Koepka at the 2015 Masters. They went public with their relationship at the U.S. Open in 2017. Over the years, Sims has been a constant presence at Koepka’s tournaments.
Brooks Koepka looks at his wife, Jena Sims Koepka, during the Par 3 contest prior to the 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 5, 2023, in Augusta, Georgia. (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
“It tests your patience,” Sims laughed about being a pro golfer’s wife. “But I’m pretty fortunate. It’s really exciting that my husband doesn’t have a nine-to-five and neither do I… I’m able to travel with him and go support him. And then whenever I have something going on, if he doesn’t have a tournament, he can come and support me… We get to stay together… I get to look forward to seeing him at the end of the day if he’s had a good day or a bad day. I love being there for him.”
However, Sims is not just sitting pretty, she stressed. The star leads her own thriving career, with Koepka as her biggest cheerleader.
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When not traveling, Brooks Koepka and his wife Jena Sims like to spend quality time at home with their black lab named Cove. (Phillip Faraone/FilmMagic)
“I think the biggest misconception is that I don’t work,” she shared. “And that couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s funny, I have some people telling me, ‘You need to just subdue yourself…’ And then I have other people going, ‘She doesn’t work, she just wants to spend his money.’ And I’m like, ‘Y’all have no idea.’ I’ve been working hard. I’ve supported myself as an actress in LA for all of my 20s. I’ve probably shot over 200 TV commercials since moving to Florida. I work as an influencer on Instagram. I know people might not consider that to be a job, ‘cause I don’t sit behind a desk all day. But’s a job. I make great money.”
Jena Sims attends the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit celebration of the launch of the 2021 Issue on July 24, 2021, in Hollywood, Florida. (Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit)
“I’m a homeowner with my mom – we have a vacation rental in the Bahamas together,” Sims continued. “I have a swim line with OneOne Swim… Just because I show our exciting life on Instagram or TikTok, whatever it is, I grind. I work so hard. And I just feel like because he’s – we’ll say is in a different tax bracket than I am – that I don’t work. But I work very, very hard. I think that’s the Capricorn in me.”
When Sims and Koepka are not hitting the road together, they are happily at home. Sims said they like to keep date nights super simple.
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Jena Sims told Fox News Digital there are misconceptions about being a pro golfer’s wife. (Getty Images)
“We [like to] catch up on all of our trash reality TV shows,” said Sims. “That’s our thing together – watching reality TV… It’s just us and our dog. But when we leave the house for a date, there’s a really good restaurant here called U-Tiki. It’s plastic chairs, sushi, drinks… People are like, ‘That’s your favorite restaurant?’ Absolutely. I don’t need to be wined and dined, like ‘Take me to Miami, let’s go to Nobu.’ I do love Nobu, but we just like [to be] casual, chill. Just us.”
Jena Sims, left, said Brooks Koepka is her biggest cheerleader. (Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit)
These days, the SI Swim Search has been on Sims’ mind, but she is not worried about striking a pose for the camera.
“I don’t eat the cleanest – Brooks just brought home Wendy’s, so I scarfed down a spicy chicken sandwich,” she said. “My favorite type of workout is F45. It’s just a 45-minute class. And I think I like it so much because they play amazing music and it’s so loud. I’m not a calm, soothing Pilates, yoga princess. I’m like, ‘Scream at me.’ I want to be dripping sweat. I want loud music, heavy weights. For my body type, I like to lift weights because I don’t need to do a lot of cardio. I find that lifting weights has been the most beneficial.”
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Jena Sims has a no-nonsense approach to her workout routine. (Veronica Sams)
Sims has plenty on her plate these days. She is also the founder of Pageant of Hope, which gives kids and teenagers struggling with challenges a day of pampering. It is a passion project she happily discussed during the SI casting call.
Jena Sims said participating in pageants gave her a much-needed confidence boost. (Shaye Babb)
“I used to be painfully shy, I couldn’t even form a sentence,” Sims recalled. “I remember my first pageant interview, I was… quivering because I was just so nervous, like, ‘Oh my God, I have to answer questions.’ It took me a few years to win that pageant… But that winning feeling, like hearing your name… gives you so much confidence. Throughout my pageant training, I learned communication, I learned stage presence, I learned how to do interviews, and not be scared. That’s why I formed my own nonprofit, which gives that winning feeling to children and teens who are facing disabilities or facing challenges. It allows every participant to hear their name called as a winner.”
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Jena Sims is the founder and president of HBBQs, Inc. (Has Been Beauty Queens), which puts on the Pageant of Hope. (Erik Kruthoff)
“I’ve seen both sides of it,” she continued. “When you lose a pageant, you feel like a failure. And then when you win a pageant, you’re on top of the world. So I created a pageant where there aren’t any losers. Everyone leaves a winner… I’ve been touched by how excited these kids get when they’re crowned. And when we do our mini makeovers, we teach self-confidence, inner beauty. But we also make them feel beautiful on the outside as well. Everyone deserves to feel beautiful. And you can see them come out of their shells. Their postures change. They’re striking poses at the end of the day.”
“And it’s been cool to create that because that’s exactly what pageants did for me,” she added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
