Demi-Leigh Tebow appears to have an idyllic life in many ways, yet, like many people, she has had to learn some difficult lessons and at times has struggled with her Christian faith. The former Miss Universe and Miss South Africa winner spoke on “The 700 Club” to Terry Meeuwsen of challenges she has faced relating to her identity and the problem of evil.
“I think a lot of people can relate to the fact that we root our worth, our value, in maybe something that didn’t last, something that was temporary,” said Demi-Leigh Tebow, who is married to former professional football player and former professional baseball player Tim Tebow.
Demi-Leigh joined Meeuwsen to talk about her new book, “A Crown that Lasts: You Are Not Your Label,” which released on Aug. 13. She acknowledged that while not many people can relate to being a pageant queen, many can understand what it’s like to put their identities in something that fails them.
“That really is what this book is about,” said Demi-Leigh, “how we can root our identity in something, maybe someone more specifically, that is never changing, that is fixed, that’s always trustworthy, and that’s bigger than ourselves.”
Demi-Leigh Tebow: ‘First and Foremost To Love God
Demi-Leigh Tebow (née Nel-Peters) is a South African model and beauty pageant winner. She married her husband, Tim Tebow, in January 2020. The two are outspoken Christians and advocates for vulnerable people, including children with special needs and children trapped in human trafficking.
Demi-Leigh told Meeuwsen, who is herself a former pageant queen, that because she is from South Africa and was unfamiliar with American football, she was unaware of Tebow’s football career but knew him as the “Night to Shine” guy.
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Night to Shine, which is sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, is a prom-type experience celebrating people with special needs who are ages 14 and older. The Tebows first met because Tim invited Demi-Leigh and her sister, Franje, to Night to Shine. Franje suffered from cerebellar agenesis, which is a rare condition where the brain forms without a cerebellum. She passed away in 2019 at the age of 13.
“Franje’s life was so significant and so special,” said Demi-Leigh, who added she does not believe she will fully understand the purpose of Franje’s life until she meets God and sees her sister again in the afterlife.
“That was a hard thing for me to accept,” said Demi-Leigh. “It was hard for me as a teenager, especially, to work through, you know, ‘Lord, why is this happening to my sister? Why can she not been healed?’”
