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Former beauty queen Pat Smith opens up about past
domestic abuse and how she found her value in Christ
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Article By Stacey Johnson // EEW Magazine News
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Posted March 2, 2017
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Photo: Getty
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Pat Smith is happily married to NFL star running back Emmitt Smith. But she wasn’t always in a
healthy relationship full of love and respect.
The former beauty queen was once trapped in an abusive relationship, which she opened up
about in a new radio interview helping women understand the nature of abuse, and how to get
out of a volatile situation.
“Typically, when somebody abuses you there’s a void,” explained Smith during an exclusive chat
on the nationally syndicated radio show, Get Up! Mornings with Erica Campbell.
“They can sense the vulnerability, the neediness and the void,” said the mother of five, who
admitted, “I didn’t know my worth.”
The author of Second Chances: Finding Healing for Your Pain, Regaining Your Strength,
Celebrating Your new Life took calls from listeners seeking advice on how to be confident, live
their best life and escape unhealthy romantic ties.
Smith let them know Christ is the answer.
“When I found Christ, my attitude changed about my value and my worth. Once I started really
learning His word, being in fellowship with Him [and] with other believers, I started growing in my
spirit,” she said.
Years ago, the Founder of Treasure You™, a brand of products and services to help women
achieve their dreams and find their passion in life, admitted she was really vulnerable and it’s
something that opened the door for an abuser.
“I had so many voids in my life,” she said, adding, “I think people prey on that.”
But eventually, broken and all, Smith mustered the strength to leave, which she confessed wasn’t
easy. “When I finally had to step away from my situation, I was so scared and so fearful because I
didn’t know what life would be without that person,” she said.
But the courageous fighter did it anyway and told one caller who was feeling unsure about how to
tear away from her abuser, “You’ve got to make the first step and then let God take the rest.”
The co-founder of Pat & Emmitt Smith Charities is full of wisdom and strength today. But looking
in retrospect, she said she once felt guilt and shame, as if she had done something to provoke
the aggression of the man who put his hands on her.
But now she knows better.
“If you’re out here and somebody is touching you, beating you, hitting you, emotionally,
physically, verbally abusive to you, there is no excuse,” Smith passionately advised.
“You have to know your worth and your value,” she said.
If you are in an abusive relationship, you can get immediate help through the National Domestic
Violence Hotline at www.thehotline.org or call 1-800-799-7233.
If you need guidance, strength and courage from God to get out, our intercessory prayer team
will glady intercede for you. Click here to submit your request.
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