'My Faith Got Me Through it All': How Former Miss America Betty Maxwell Overcame Life's Challenges

Miss Georgia Betty Maxwell has opened up about the recent challenges she has faced and how faith got her through it all. 

Maxwell was crowned Miss America 2015 but did not anticipate the difficult days that were ahead of her.

During a recent interview with Fox News, Maxwell revealed how she kept her faith during those tough times. 

Maxwell's new biography, Miss Unlikely: From Farm Girl to Miss America, details her journey from the farm to competing for the coveted crown and everything in between.

She explained that participating in a pageant was never something she thought about during her younger years. 

"I grew up on a farm. I wasn't a pageant girl and I wasn't about that life. I've never competed in my life. And most girls who do pageants have grown up with it," Maxwell said. "

"I grew up singing so that alone was a big temptation for me. I felt it was an opportunity for my talent to finally be validated," she continued. "I always wanted to be a singer so I thought this would have been a great way to have my voice heard."

After winning the Miss America crown, she was grateful but felt the overwhelming pressure of living up to the title. 

"I was already feeling a tremendous amount of pressure," she confided. "We haven't had a Miss Georgia win Miss America in over 63 years at that time. So Georgia had a lot of faith in me. I really wanted to break the cycle for my home state. So when I actually did, I just couldn't believe it. I was so over the moon and excited."

But that was just the beginning of the challenging times where she relied on her faith in God to overcome her obstacles.

"My faith is honestly what got me through it all. People hold you on such a high pedestal for the whole year. In order to stay grounded and get through all of that, I needed to have a strong faith," she said.

"I wasn't with my family or the people that loved and supported me. I was really on my own. All I really had was God. All I had was my faith. And that really kept me pushing and pushing through it all…And I think that made me stronger today," Maxell continued. 

Even though her reign as Miss America is over, Maxwell remains deeply rooted in her faith and relies on it daily. 

"Faith has continued to be a part of my everyday life," she told Fox News.  "Just because I'm not Miss America anymore doesn't mean I don't need God's help in every aspect of my life. Christ is the foundation of my marriage and my relationship with my husband. I start and end each day with God. I love to read my devotional. I need to start and end each day with a prayer. I feel it's my way of taking care of myself when all other earthly things fail."

"I don't know how people get through things without faith. Without my faith, I feel I have nothing. During the toughest of times, God is always there for me," Maxwell said.  "My faith is always there for me, no matter what. That's what keeps me going each day. There were so many times when I felt like a failure or things didn't plan out the way I wanted."

Despite the ups and downs, she believes that God has a unique plan for her and looks forward to what lies ahead. 

"My faith keeps me pushing forward and eager to discover what's next for me," Maxwell noted. " And I never let those setbacks stop me. My faith is always right around the corner, along with bigger and better things."