On the Online Backlash and Pain That Came From the Scandal:
“I just couldn’t trust anyone… everything in my life changed,” she explained, later adding, “To be honest, when people say things to you it’s a reflection of how they feel inside. If you feel the need to go out of your way to say something negative about someone, it’s most likely because you’re not happy with something internally.”
“I’ve had to deal with internet bullies and bullies, so this is nothing new to me,” she said. “This was just on a much, much larger scale. Of course, some days it hurts. For the most part, it doesn’t really affect me—other people’s opinions. I feel if I allow it to, I would not be who I am today. I would not feel comfortable not leaving my house.”
On Her Faith and Gaining Strength Over Her Experiences:
“In that case and in that moment, I did feel like everything was against me. And the only thing I really had to lean on was my faith and my family,” she revealed. She explained she felt this before when her father, John Woods, passed away nearly three years ago. It “actually spiraled me to a darker place,” she explained of his death, noting that she resorted to creating so many distractions in her life.
“My not being still led to this explosion in my life. So I think it was deeper than what happened on one night,” she shared. “It was God sitting me down like, ‘Look, pay attention. You haven’t sat still for three years almost and you need to understand that your purpose is much bigger than you… What you’re doing right now doesn’t matter. Sit down, pay attention.'”