However, a question that has yet to be asked still scares Smart. And she doesn't know exactly what to say if her kids ever ask, “Will this happen to me?”
“I've talked to a lot of parents and [they] You always ask me, 'How do I talk to our kids?'” Smart said. “Honestly, I'm not a parenting expert, I just have experience raising my own children.”
For her part, she continued: “I'm looking for that answer myself. I want to be honest with my kids and I want them to know, in this world, not everyone has your best interest at heart. But I don't want them to live in fear.”
Helping her in this quest is her husband of 12 years, to whom she credits her uncanny ability to know when to have her own way and when her concerns could be minimized.
“He's always been there for me,” Smart said of Matthew, a native of Aberdeen, Scotland, whom she met while they were both doing missionary work in Paris. “He's always been respected if I've said no or 'I'm not okay with that.'” He's also been the counterweight for me, when I'm like, [in a mock-hysterical tone]”But I can't let anyone out! No one can set foot outside! No one can do anything unless I'm there!”
Returning to his normal register, he added, “He's there to calm me down a little, to even us out.”
The Girl Locked Upstairs: The Story of Tanya Kach premieres Saturday, June 8 at 8 p.m. on Lifetime, followed by Beyond the Headlines: The Tanya Kach Story with Elizabeth Smart.
