Elizabeth Smart says she was fearful to announce her new career as a bodybuilder after being “scared of judgment.”
The 38-year-old shared photos on Instagram April 21 from a recent bodybuilder competition she competed in. The picture highlighted her toned and muscular physique in a bikini, and in the caption she explained how her latest career pivot has made her feel “proud” of her body.
In a sit-down interview with “Entertainment Tonight,” Smart opened up about her decision to share the post, revealing she initially second guessed if she should.
“Actually sharing it was terrifying to me. I thought there’d be a response like with my longtime followers, but the response that it got, the fact that I’m here talking about one post off of Instagram is insanity,” she said in the interview uploaded May 10.
Smart continued, “I was scared, scared of judgment, scared that people would look at me and being like, ‘Oh well, she’s becoming the very thing she fights against.’”
When she was just 14, Smart was abducted from her home in Salt Lake City. After nine months of being raped and assaulted, she was rescued by police. She discussed her horrifying story in the 2025 Netflix documentary “Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart.” Smart, who is now married with three kids, also works as an advocate for missing persons and sex abuse victims.
While speaking to “ET,” she said her past and the scrutiny victims face made her realize she needed to post the photo despite her fears.
“That is why a lot of victims don’t talk about what’s happened, because they’re afraid that they won’t be believed. They’re afraid that they’ll be judged, maybe for how they were dressed… When that connection was made in my mind, I was like, I have to do it,” she explained.
She added that her conservative Mormon upbringing also made her hesitant to share the picture.
“Modesty is heavily stressed, and that was my upbringing. So then I was also like, ‘What will people think of me?’” she recalled wondering. “Then I was just, like, ‘You know what? I have one shot at life, and I don’t want to get to the end of my life and look back and think I should have done that.’”
She pointed out that a common misconception is that bodybuilding is sexual. She said the sport is an example of discipline, hard work and dedication.
Smart, who has run marathons in the past, became involved in bodybuilding after noticing knee pains and a lack of energy. A friend that she trained with encouraged her to try bodybuilding after Smart said she wanted to boost her confidence and get in better shape.
She learned that the 45-minute bodybuilding workouts she did were not as difficult as managing her diet.
“I legitimately track everything that goes into my mouth, and it’s a lot of protein,” Smart explained. “So I will check in with my coach every day. I’ll send her pictures. There’s a whole posing routine you have to do on stage. So I’ll send her my video of my posing routine every day, and she will adjust my eating to that plan. I mean going into this show, I was probably eating over 2,500 calories a day, filling my muscles back up with the carbs.”
But she noted that they weren’t the tastiest meals. She mostly ate grilled chicken, sometimes with salt and pepper, and a side of plain rice. She told “ET” she is currently craving an entire cake following her last competition.
Although the strict diet is challenging, Smart said has developed a “deep sense of gratitude” for her body.
“Without my body, I wouldn’t exist. It’s seen me through every bad experience. It’s seen me through every good experience. It’s given me three beautiful children. I have so many reasons to celebrate my body, and I feel like, for me, bodybuilding is a celebration of your body, and so I’ve really enjoyed it,” she shared.
She credits the sport for helping her become fearless. She now is ready to embrace life to the fullest.
Smart mentioned in her Instagram post that she has already participated in four competitions. She reiterated in her caption the importance of not letting judgment or critics’ opinions about how she should behave as a survivor impact how she lives her life.
“I think it’s easy to be labeled as one thing, and honestly, that’s not me nor do I think it’s any of us. We are more than just one topic, one idea, one label. I am interested in many things, and as I get older I realize more and more how important it is to make the most of today, we don’t know what tomorrow brings,” she wrote.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
