Gayle King Jokes She Wants to Send Her 'Sports Illustrated Swimsuit' Cover to Ex-Husband Bill Bumpus

During an interview with Entertainment Tonight on Thursday, May 16, the CBS Mornings co-anchor, 69, opened up about her new cover shoot for the magazine to celebrate its 60th anniversary issue, which hit stands on May 17.

Speaking with the outlet at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City, King shared that both of her kids complimented her on the magazine cover — and joked that she would be sending ex-husband Bill Bumpus a copy.

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"Both of them said to me separately, 'Mom, this is really cool. We're very proud of you,' " King said. "I wonder what my ex-husband is saying. I'm gonna send him a copy!"

King and Bumpus, an attorney, tied the knot in 1982 and share two children: daughter Kirby, 38, and son William, 37. The pair later split in 1993.

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The talk show host is one of 52 people featured in the magazine's anniversary edition including Brooklyn Decker, Christie Brinkley, Kate Love, Leyna Bloom, Lily Aldridge, Martha Stewart, Maye Musk, Molly Sims, Paulina Porizkova, Tyra Banks and Winnie Harlow. She's also just one of a few special-edition solo cover models, alongside Hunter McGrady, Chrissy Teigen and Kate Upton.

"It has sunk in, but it's still mind-blowing to me, honestly," King told ET of the photo shoot. "I used to look at it all the time, myself… never in a gazillion years did I think I would be that person."

"But what's been most interesting to me is the number of women who've been stopping me, saying, 'You have no idea what an inspiration this is,' " King added.

The host previously spoke with PEOPLE about how she prepared to pose for the magazine — including how she learned from her fellow models and the entire SI Swimsuit team, including editor-in-chief MJ Day, ahead of her big photo shoot.

"You realize when you're around models who know what the hell they're doing, it really does require a different kind of skill set — you can tell the difference between their poses and mine," she told PEOPLE. "Theirs are so natural. Tyra, by the way, was showing me how to pose. I liked having a personal lesson from Tyra Banks."

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In her conversation with PEOPLE, King also joked that she would have to "start starving myself" before the shoot — but Day objected to that immediately.

"'Absolutely do not do that. We don't want you to change anything that you're doing,' " King recalled Day telling her. "I said, 'Really? I don't have to starve myself?' and she said, 'Please, we want you to do exactly what you're doing.' I said, 'Well, is cottage cheese good on thighs?' She goes, 'Yes, Gayle. Actually, it is,' because I was very worried about that."

King described the shoot as a "great experience" in the end, and joked that the crew "delivered" on her request for "tasteful cleavage."

"There were a couple bathing suits that they pulled out. I said, 'I ain't wearing that. I ain't wearing that,' " she recalled. "I was always on board with tasteful cleavage, I call it… I wanted tasteful cleavage, and they delivered on all of that."