She was the first Filipino model to walk in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

And Kelsey Merritt proved why she is in high demand as she was spotted flaunting her fabulous figure in Miami on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old beauty showed off her svelte physique in a skimpy black bikini as she was joined by her Olympic swimmer beau Conor Dwyer.

Daring to impress, the natural stunner put her ample curves on center stage as she rocked a barely-there Gigi C Bikinis swimsuit.

Her main squeeze stayed close as he couldn’t keep his hands off his gorgeous girlfriend.

Meanwhile,  Kelsey revealed that she was banned from wearing bikinis by her ‘conservative’ mother – while celebrating her debut in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

She told DailyMail.com that she wasn’t allowed to wear bikinis for much of her upbringing in the Philippines, explaining that her ‘conservative’ Filipino mother wasn’t comfortable with her wearing such revealing designs.  

‘Honestly, my mom is so conservative that growing up I couldn’t even wear a bikini, I was not allowed,’ she said, while promoting the new Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue at the publication’s On Location event in Miami.

‘I was not allowed to post bikini pictures [on Instagram]… she’s just very covered.’

However, Kelsey’s conservative upbringing didn’t stop her from pursuing her dream of becoming a model – and she worked hard to ensure that her mother grew to appreciate that she might have to wear skimpier clothing for her job.

‘It took a while to get here to this point where she’s now comfortable that I’m doing this,’ she said.

‘At first… with my first bikini shots [on Instagram] she was like, “Take it down! Take it down!” But I was like, “Look, it’s work, you have to understand this.”’

And the model remains incredibly close with her mother, who is still based in the Philippines, while Kelsey has since moved to New York in order to focus on her work.

Last year, she paid tribute to her mom, Tess, in a sweet Mother’s Day post, thanking her for always being ‘supportive’ while helping to ‘keep her grounded’.

‘Happy Mothers Day to the best Mama in the world,’ she wrote in a Facebook post, while sharing an image of the two of them at her graduation from Ateneo de Manila University, where she earned a degree in communications in May 2017, while also pursuing her dream career in fashion.

‘She’s always the most supportive, but still never fails to keep me grounded. I wish I could be with you right now Ma, but I hope you can feel the love from across the world.’

And when she landed the job with the magazine, her mother was the first person she called with the joyful news – although she admits she wasn’t particularly familiar with Sports Illustrated before Kelsey began casting for the publication.

‘My roommate was in the room so I told her straight away, screaming, then I called my mom, and then my boyfriend,’ she said.

‘I don’t think my mom knew what [Sports Illustrated] was, but because I’m in the modeling industry, she knows a bit. If I wasn’t, I don’t think she would know anything about it.’

Needless to say, while her close bond with her mother has not faltered, Kelsey’s career has changed immeasurably over the past year.

Just months after landing a history-making spot in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show at the end of 2018, she then scored the shoot with Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit, which was released last week, making her debut as a rookie alongside the likes of cover girl Camille Kostek, Halima Aden and Jasmine Sanders.

And for Kelsey, her shoot, which took place in Great Exuma, Bahamas, with photographer Laretta Houston, was a dream come true – and she said the entire experience was ‘so much fun’ – thanks in large part to editor MJ Day.

‘I didn’t know what to expect… I wouldn’t say I was nervous, I just wanted all of the photos to turn out really well, I wanted to do my best,’ she said.

‘MJ made the environment so comfortable and very easy so that made everything so much more fun.

‘I felt like, because the environment was that comfortable, you could do all these crazy things, and there was no room for judgement, no room for anything like that. It was really cool.’

But while Kelsey smolders in the photos, which show her posing in a variety of different swimwear designs, from a shining silver swimsuit to a barely-there gold bikini, she says that when she isn’t working, she’s actually incredibly shy in front of the camera.

‘It’s actually weird because sometimes at work, I’m like, “Work mode on, it’s on,” but if you take a photo of me [anywhere else] I’m like shy,’ she revealed.

‘And I don’t know why – I can do this in front of like 30 people, but it’s because I know it’s work. But if I’m in a crowded place and people are staring, I’m shy. That’s the main difference.

‘I’m a shy person, but whenever [I am working], I almost act, it just comes out.’

Her acting skills certainly paid off, and Kelsey ended up with beautiful photos for the magazine, which she was busy promoting alongside her fellow models in Miami over the weekend.

And although she admits her recent success has certainly been ‘overwhelming’, Kelsey says she is incredibly grateful for all that she has achieved – and is now busy looking ahead to future goals in her career, which include vying for the title of Rookie of the Year, which is currently being voted for online.

‘It’s definitely like overwhelming but it’s a good kind of feeling,’ she told DailyMail.com of the entire experience.

‘I feel like any girl – we start somewhere, and then you hit your big break, and then everything just falls into place. I’ve been wanting this for so long and finally it’s all happening, it’s just amazing.’

‘It’s really awesome, especially getting to meet all these girls,’ she added of her fellow Sports Illustrated Swimsuit stars.

The theme of this year’s issue – ‘Shattering Perceptions’ – is also incredibly fitting for Kelsey’s debut, particularly when it comes to breaking her own barriers, and achieving success that she never dreamed possible.

‘My biggest dream was to walk the Victoria’s Secret show, and I did that last year, and then [Sports Illustrated],’ she said.

‘Now I have new goals that I want to do. Like shoot a major campaign for a designer, or walk [in a fashion show] for a big designer. That’s what I never thought I could do – but now I’m like, oh hey maybe I could be open to the possibility of that.

‘Because I never thought [Victoria’s Secret and Sports Illustrated] would happen.’

As her star continues to rise however, Kelsey maintains very strong ties to her home country, even after making the move to New York City in October, and she visits the Philippines regularly.

On her most recent trip last month, she also took her boyfriend Conor for his first ever visit to the country.

‘My whole family is still there [in the Philippines] and I was just there a month ago,’ she said. ‘I went on vacation, I brought my boyfriend to all of the different islands and I loved it.’