Martha Stewart says her sultry pool selfie that went viral this summer was a mistake

• Martha Stewart revealed that the sultry pool selfie she posted this summer was a total accident.
• Stewart's selfie — which showed her blowing a kiss to the camera from her pool — received more than 240,000 likes and was copied by Chelsea Handler.
• "I was trying to take a picture of the beautiful turquoise planter at the end of the pool, but the camera was on me, so I just snapped it," Stewart recently told People. "It looked so good, so I posted it."
• Stewart said she learned the definition of "thirst trap" after sharing the photo, and now she's looking for her next one.

Martha Stewart became an internet sensation over the summer when she shared a sultry selfie from her pool.

The Instagram photo — which showed Stewart blowing a kiss to the camera — received more than 240,000 likes and was even copied by Chelsea Handler.

But Stewart, 79, just revealed that her picture-perfect moment was actually a total accident.

"I took a pool selfie photo by mistake," she recently told People Magazine. "I was trying to take a picture of the beautiful turquoise planter at the end of the pool, but the camera was on me, so I just snapped it. It looked so good, so I posted it."

The photo quickly went viral, and Stewart soon learned the definition of a "thirst trap" — a picture that's been shared specifically to get likes and online attention.

"I didn't know what a 'thirst trap' was, but now I do," Stewart told People. "Now I'm looking for the next thirst trap. I love doing those promiscuous, provocative things, because it's just fun."

Stewart definitely had some fun when Handler copied her pool selfie, making sure to throw some of that shade she's become famous for.

"Dear Chelsea I'm so happy that you liked my post well enough to emulate it," Stewart wrote in a comment on Handler's photo. "I do think my pool is a little bit prettier than yours and that my facial expression is a little bit more relaxed."

But Stewart was also clearly touched by the picture, and told Handler that she was a "beautiful girl."

"And F****** too young to be emulating me," she added. "Continue with your comedy, your humor, and your amazing ability to gather around you political liberals. We need it! Love Martha."

Stewart's pool selfie may have been an accident, but she's no stranger to the camera.

During her interview with People, the one-time billionaire also opened up about her experience working as a model when she was in high school.

The lifestyle expert revealed she signed with the modeling agency Ford Models when she was 16 years old and "was immediately signed up for TV commercials."

"I was the all-American girl," she said. "I played married parts when I was 16 years old. I was so skinny and so perfect for modeling, but I didn't know that I was beautiful. That was my only problem."

"I knew that I could model, I knew I could pose for pictures, but I was not sexy, and I was not provocative," she added. "That feeling never came. It still hasn't come. I'm waiting for that day."

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