Samantha Hoopes is a model and author, best known for her appearance in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue from 2014 to 2020. She was interested in sports and modeling from a young age. 

Hoopes aspired to be a gym instructor with a second job as a sports coach. In middle school, Hoopes played field hockey, but not in high school.

She was warned not to play field hockey since she was a model and would constantly have bruises. Therefore, she gave up the world of sports to be a model.

And to be a successful one, she received modeling training at Barbizon Chique in Philadelphia. As a result, Hoopes came to Hollywood in 2013 to pursue a modeling career. 

After over six years of modeling for Sports Illustrated, Hoopes is taking a break from her career. This is because she is busy with her children and partner.

Blessed With Two Kids

Hoopes shares two children with Salvatore Palella, an Italian entrepreneur. On August 15, 2021, she took to Instagram to share a picture of herself and her youngest kid wearing matching outfits. 

In the captions, she penned how happy she was as a full-time mother. She called having two kids "a blessing and a balancing act."

Hoopes has employed no nanny because she wants to spend all her time with her children. However, balancing two kids has been challenging for the model. 

This is because both her babies are incredibly young. Her older son, George, was born in August 2020, which makes him two years old. Similarly, her youngest child, Kennedy, is just a week old. 

George was not used to having a baby sister around, so it has been difficult for her to adjust. As a result, Hoopes feels like she is not doing enough for both kids. 

Regardless, she is enjoying her life to the fullest because her kids are her biggest blessing. She is doing her best to avoid the "mom guilt" and devote all her time caring for her babies and husband. 

Samantha Hoopes and Salvatore Palella

Palella is a successful entrepreneur with a couple of businesses under his belt. He is the CEO of Helbiz, the first micro-mobility company listed on Nasdaq. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Salvatore Palella (@palella)

Hoopes got engaged to Palella in July 2018. Hoopes shared the good news with a ring selfie and a slideshow of Palella's passionate proposal on Instagram. 

The entrepreneur chose a romantic approach to his creative engagement proposal. As a result, he surprised Hoopes with the precise number of flowers corresponding to the number of days since they first met.

Palella proposed in Milan, Italy, at the Bulgaria Hotel after 381 days of meeting the model for the first time at the same spot. He designed a massive diamond engagement ring for his fiancée. 

It is not known if the couple is married or not. Regardless, they refer to each other as husband and wife on their social media.