"I handed over my title as Miss Universe a good amount of years ago, and I remember walking off that stage feeling like I forgot 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's taken what she's learned and used it to help others.
Speaking from Jacksonville, Florida, the wife of Tim Tebow shared her focus on finding a stronger sense of personal identity amid change, uncertainty and fear — and helping others to do the same through a new book, "A Crown That Lasts." (See the video at the top of this article.)
TIM TEBOW LAUNCHES MAJOR NEW CAMPAIGN TO FIGHT HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SAVE CHILD SEX VICTIMS
"I left something, you know?" she said about walking off the stage that day after her Miss Universe term was complete.
"You know, you rush out of a hotel room and you're like, 'Oh, I'm forgetting something. Do I have my passport? Do I have my keys? Do I have my ring? Whatever that is. And you just feel like you forgot something."
She added, "And I wasn't able to fully figure out what I had forgotten on that stage when I handed over my title for probably a good year or two afterward."
Tebow said that after the conclusion of her year-long term (2017-2018) of serving as Miss Universe, she "had to go through a process of untangling the roots of my identity, of uprooting weeds of doubt before I was able to plant new seeds of truth."
BIBLE'S ‘EVIL PRESENCES’ HIGHLIGHTED BY KATHIE LEE GIFFORD SHED NEW LIGHT ON PRESENT-DAY CONFLICTS
"Eventually I realized that I had left my identity on that stage alongside my Miss Universe crown, because I had attached my worth, my value to the thing that I thought made me important, worthy."
She added, "As believers, I believe that we are called to strive for excellence, chasing that corner office, that dream job, that next paycheck, that dream car, whatever that might be."
And "it's not like any of those things are bad, but it's when we attach our identity to something that is temporary that we walk a real tightrope."
That was her inspiration for her new book, published this week on August 13.
"My book is titled ‘A Crown That Lasts,’ and while, ironically, my crown did not last, I know that I have been able, through the process that I have gone through the last couple of years, to find an identity that is rooted in not just something, but something that is eternal."
After serving as both Miss South Africa and Miss Universe, Tebow has been active as a philanthropist, entrepreneur and speaker, particularly in her focus on helping other women understand how to handle dangerous scenarios after she survived an attempted carjacking.
FLORIDA CONGRESSMAN MIKE WALTZ TO RELEASE NEW BOOK ON GREEN BERET LESSONS AND LEADERSHIP
It's why she founded a project she calls the #Unbreakable Campaign.
"'Unbreakable' was born when I wanted to really empower college students with how to look out for themselves, how to be preventative in certain situations," she told Fox News Digital.
"Growing up in South Africa, unfortunately, women and children face severe amounts of domestic violence and abuse, and [this] has really broken my heart for women all around the world.
"It started in my home country, and really, the thing that serves as the major catalyst for me — growing ‘Unbreakable’ and wanting to reach more women around the world — was the horrific carjack that I experienced at gunpoint."
She shared the experience in vivid detail.
"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 traffic light. And before I could even blink, I was surrounded by five men, by multiple men, and some of them were armed.
"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 it's because my dad forced me to go on safety driving courses, on self-defense workshops" earlier in her life.
NEW BOOK, A DEVOTIONAL CALLED ‘LIGHT FOR TODAY,' MAY HELP OPEN EYES TO GOD AS ‘A LIVING REALITY’
"In that traumatic situation, I knew not to go to the second destination, because whatever is about to happen somewhere downtown, in some dark alley with [maybe more people present] is not going to be better than right here: broad daylight, peak-hour traffic with hundreds of people around me.
"And, so, I tried to run away. I tried to get out of that vehicle. The man on my side of the vehicle grabbed me, pushed me back into the vehicle, said, 'Get in, you're going with us.'"
And that's when she remembered "the second thing," she said.
"The throat. It's obviously lethal. So please don't ever try this at home. It's absolutely just to be used in a life-threatening situation. But I punched him as hard as I could in his throat, and that bought me a split-second window of opportunity to run away."
"That incident was so dramatic," she added. "But the most dramatic part of that story was running up that avenue in broad daylight … Nobody would stop to help me.
"I remember looking over my shoulder, not knowing if I'm being chased and [about to be] shot in the back, not knowing what their intent was. I just knew that it was not good."
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER
"That moment really broke my heart and made me never want to be one of the [people behind] the many car windows that I knocked on, begging, asking, yelling for help. I want to be the one girl that eventually stopped for me … to help somebody in need.
"And, you know, I have dedicated the last couple of years of my life and in such a big way to use what I have with where I am to serve people in need."
And "it truly shaped my heart to continue fighting for women around the world," she said.
"It started off with learning about what women in South Africa face, but it has snowballed and grown into learning about the fight against human trafficking, about fighting for survivors of human trafficking and being able to provide for them.
"My husband and I, when we first met, you know, being from two different countries, we didn't necessarily always have a lot of things in common, but we had so much purpose in the fight against human trafficking."
It is why, she said, that for both our birthdays this year, we have chosen through different ways to fight against human trafficking by loving and caring for the victims and the survivors of human trafficking."
Each year Tim Tebow has been using his early-August birthday to help shine a light on the needs of others, as he did last year as well, as he has told Fox News Digital previously. The Tebows work to raise awareness about the disturbing developments and growth of human trafficking — estimated to be a $150 billion industry, with some 50 million people trapped in bondage, Tebow and his team have noted.
For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews/lifestyle
More information about Demi Tebow's new book can be found here.
