“I handed over my Miss Universe title a few years ago and I remember walking off the stage feeling like I had forgotten something,” Demi Tebow told Fox News Digital in an on-camera interview.
She also survived a dramatic carjacking attempt and felt forever changed by those experiences and others. She took what she learned and used it to help others.
Speaking from Jacksonville, Florida, Tim Tebow's wife shared her focus on finding a stronger sense of personal identity amid change, uncertainty and fear, and helping others do the same through a new book, “A Crown That Lasts.” (See the video at the top of this article.)
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“I left something out, you know?” she said of walking off the stage that day after completing her Miss Universe stint.
“You know, you run out of a hotel room and you're like, 'Oh, I forgot something. Do I have my passport? Do I have my keys? Do I have my ring? Whatever. ' And you feel like you've forgotten something.”
“I had to go through a process of untangling the roots of my identity, of pulling out the weeds of self-doubt before I could plant new seeds of truth,” Demi Tebow told Fox News Digital. Her new book is titled “A Crown That Lasts.” (Micah Kandros; W Publishing Group)
He added: “And I probably wasn't able to fully grasp what I had forgotten on that stage when I handed over my degree until a year or two later.”
Tebow said that after concluding her one-year term (2017-2018) as Miss Universe, she “had to go through a process of untangling the roots of my identity, of uprooting the weeds of self-doubt before I could plant new seeds of truth.”
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“In the end I realized that I had left my identity on that stage along with my Miss Universe crown, because I had attributed my worth to what I believed made me important, worthy.”
“I believe we are called to strive for excellence.”
He added: “As believers, I believe we are called to strive for excellence, chasing that office, that dream job, that next paycheck, that dream car, whatever that may be.”
“Not that any of those things are bad, but when we tie our identity to something that is temporary, we're walking a tightrope.”
That was the inspiration for her new book, published this week on August 13.
“My book is called 'A Crown That Endures,' and while, ironically, my crown didn't last, I know that I have been able, through the process I've gone through over the last few years, to find an identity that is rooted not just in something, but in something that is eternal.”
“The main catalyst was the horrific carjacking I suffered at gunpoint.”
After serving as Miss South Africa and Miss Universe, Tebow has been active as a philanthropist, businesswoman, and speaker, particularly in her focus on helping other women understand how to handle dangerous situations after surviving an attempted carjacking.
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That's why he founded a project he calls #Unbreakable campaign.
“'Unbreakable' was born out of me really wanting to empower college students on how to take care of themselves and how to be proactive in certain situations,” she told Fox News Digital.
“'Unbreakable' was born out of me wanting to empower college students on how to take care of themselves and how to be proactive in certain situations,” Tebow said in an interview with Fox News Digital. (Micah Kandros)
“Growing up in South Africa, unfortunately, women and children face severe amounts of domestic violence and abuse, and [this] It has truly broken my heart for women all over the world.
“It all started in my country and, in fact, what served as the biggest catalyst for me to grow 'Unbreakable' and want to reach more women around the world was the horrible carjacking I suffered at gunpoint.”
She shared the experience in vivid detail.
Demi Tebow spoke to Fox News Digital about the life experiences that led her to do charitable and philanthropic work. Her new book is titled “A Crown That Lasts.” (Micah Kandros)
“Shortly after I won Miss South Africa, about three months later, I was on my way to an event as the official Miss South Africa… and I was stopped at a red light. And before I could blink, I was surrounded by five men, several men, and some of them were armed.
“I knew I shouldn't go to the second destination.”
“You know, in a traumatic situation like that, it's hard to react. It's hard to know exactly what to do. But I knew two things. And that is that my father forced me to attend safe driving courses and self-defense workshops” at an earlier stage in his life.
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“In that traumatic situation, I knew I shouldn't go to the second destination, because whatever was about to happen somewhere downtown, in some dark alley with [maybe more people present] It's not going to be any better than here: broad daylight, rush hour traffic with hundreds of people around me.
“And then I tried to get away. I tried to get out of the vehicle. The man next to me grabbed me, pushed me into the vehicle and said, 'Get in, you're going with us.'”
And that's when he remembered “the second thing,” he said.
Demi Tebow, along with her husband Tim Tebow, has dedicated her time to helping others in need. (Tim Tebow Foundation)
“In the throat. It's obviously lethal. So please don't try this at home. It's absolutely only for use in life-threatening situations. But I punched him in the throat with all my might and that gave me a split-second chance to escape.”
“It really gave me strength to continue fighting for women around the world.”
“That incident was very dramatic,” he added. “But the most dramatic thing in the story was running down that avenue in broad daylight… Nobody stopped to help me.
“I remember looking over my shoulder, not knowing if I was being chased and [about to be] “They shot me in the back, not knowing what their intention was. I just knew it wasn't good.”
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“That moment really broke my heart and made me never want to be one of them again. [people behind] The many car windows I knocked on, begging, screaming for help. I want to be the one girl who finally stopped for me… to help someone in need.
“And, you know, I've dedicated the last few years of my life, in a very important way, to using what I have and where I am to serve people in need.”
Tim Tebow and Demi Tebow are actively involved in the fight against human trafficking. (Derek White/Getty Images)
And “it really shaped my heart to continue fighting for women around the world,” she said.
“It all started with learning about what women face in South Africa, but it grew and grew to learning about the fight against human trafficking, about fighting for survivors of human trafficking and how to help them.
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“My husband and I, when we met, you know, being from two different countries, we didn't necessarily always have a lot in common, but we had a lot of purpose in the fight against human trafficking.”
That's why, she said, for our birthdays this year, we've chosen different ways to fight human trafficking by loving and caring for victims and survivors of human trafficking.”
Every year, Tim Tebow has been Using your early August birthday to help shed light on the needs of others, as he also did last year, as he previously told Fox News Digital. The Tebows work to raise awareness about the disturbing developments and growth of human trafficking, which is estimated to be a $150 billion industry, with some 50 million people trapped in slavery, Tebow and his team said.
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You can find more information about Demi Tebow's new book here.
