Gayle King reacts to ex-husband calling her “Sports Illustrated” swimsuit cover his 'teenage fantasy'

Tamron Hall asked the journalist how she felt about her ex praising her sexy shoot for the iconic issue.

CBS Mornings host and three-time Emmy-winning journalist Gayle King is serving some scoop on her ex-husband's reaction to her new, sexy Sports Illustrated cover.

"I was shocked," the 69-year-old said in a Tuesday interview with Tamron Hall, after the talk show host asked King what she thought of her former spouse, William Bumpus, telling Page Six that King looked like his "teenage fantasy" in her swimsuit on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

King — also known for her longtime friendship with Oprah Winfrey — told Hall that she doesn't "run" from talking about her prior relationship, and that the pair have gotten to a good place with each other — enough so that she's comfortable with him praising her body in public.

"I was very surprised, because he doesn't talk to the press, but I thought it was nice," King explained. "After a while, you have two children we have to raise together, you mellow out, I wish him well, he wishes me well, I thought it was a very nice thing for him to do. You have to let all that beep go. You really do."

King added that, recently, someone asked her if the warm feeling between the two meant that they have a romantic future together.

"No, we don't think so. Nope. Tamron, he's got a girlfriend. The girlfriend is coming to my son's wedding. That's going to be fun," King said with a laugh, but still said that it felt good knowing that images of her body in a swimsuit caught the attention of her ex.

Related: Oprah Winfrey says there was pressure to cast Beyoncé or Rihanna in The Color Purple

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

"I did like it," King admitted.

Bumpus' full statement went on to praise King for showing off her body.

“Well, I can mark off one more item on my highly unlikely to ever happen bucket list! My teenage fantasy of hooking up with a Sports Illustrated Model has finally come true,” Bumpus wrote. “WOW! Bravo to you Gayle … You Look Fantastic! Bravo to Sports Illustrated for selecting YOU!”

King and Bumpus first married in, 1982 before divorcing 11 years later in 1993. The pair have two children together.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.