SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Elizabeth Smart has shared an unexpected new chapter in her life, revealing she has quietly become a competitive bodybuilder and recently competed in her fourth fitness competition.
Smart, 38, disclosed the news in an Instagram post this week, where she acknowledged some followers may have been surprised to see her onstage in competition attire. She said she once would have dismissed the idea of entering a bodybuilding show entirely.
She said a few years ago she never would have imagined entering a competition herself. Smart revealed the recent event was actually her fourth competition, but said fear of judgment had kept her from sharing that part of her life publicly until now.
Smart said she worried people might stop taking her seriously or question her work as an advocate for survivors. But she also realized those fears mirrored the kinds of limiting labels many survivors face, adding that no one should be defined by a single experience, identity or category.
“I don’t want to reach the end of my life and look back and feel regret for only living a half-life, not going after all the things I want to do and try,” she wrote.
She said bodybuilding became a personal challenge that pushed her mentally and physically and helped her embrace trying new things rather than living with regret. Smart added that she feels pride in what her body has endured and accomplished, carrying her through trauma, difficult life experiences and motherhood.
“My body has carried me through every worst day, every hellish grueling experience … and carried me through so I refuse to be ashamed of it,” Smart wrote.
She said she no longer wants to feel shame about pursuing something unexpected and hopes others will find the courage to seek new goals, experiences and happiness.
Smart became nationally known after her 2002 abduction from her Utah home at 14 and her rescue nine months later. In the years since, she has become a child safety advocate, author and speaker focused on helping survivors of abuse and violence.
