[2] The divorce was a bitter one with accusations of poor behavior and homosexuality on both sides, and custody proceedings lasted an entire decade, by which time Prejean and her sister were already grown up.

[4] She also explained that the divorce took a severe financial toll on the family, tarnished her childhood, and motivated her to provide her own children with a stable home.

She studied at San Diego Christian College, an evangelical private school located in El Cajon, California, and attends the Rock Church, where she volunteers with their outreach ministries,[5] including JC's Girls.

Prejean competed at the nationally televised Miss USA 2009 pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 19, 2009, and placed first runner-up.

[10] Prejean was asked by pageant judge Perez Hilton[10] whether she believed every U.S. state should legalize same-sex marriage.

[11][12][13][14]The media attention intensified after Hilton added a video blog post to his website, and made comments there and elsewhere, disparaging Prejean and her answer to the question.

I knew if I told the truth, I would lose all that I was competing for: the crown, the luxury apartment in New York City, the large salary—everything that went with the Miss USA title.

[18]Prejean stated that she was told by Miss California USA pageant officials that she "need[ed] to not talk about" her faith and was pressured to apologize for her statement.

[19] Several elected officials, including Gavin Newsom, mayor of San Francisco and a prominent supporter of same-sex marriage, and political pundits criticized Hilton and defended Prejean for honestly stating her personal beliefs.

[20][21][22] The New York Times opinion editorial columnist Frank Bruni said her beliefs are representative of mainstream U.S. opinion on the issue, stating "while a majority of Americans believe that gay couples should be able to enter into unions with some of the legal protections of marriage," only "a minority believe that gays and lesbians should be permitted to 'marry,' per se.

Prejean defended the shots as legitimate modeling but also claimed that the photographer was at fault because he continued to shoot her while the wind blew open her vest.

[34] Prejean claimed that K2 Productions, producers of the Miss California USA pageant, wanted her to pose for Playboy and appear on the reality television show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here!, though K2 Productions executive Keith Lewis claimed he was simply notifying Prejean of all offers for appearances.

[34] In August 2009, Prejean sued Miss California USA officials on a variety of civil grounds, including libel, slander, religious discrimination, and the unauthorized release of private medical records.

[42] The book explores what Prejean believes were unfair attacks by those in the media that leaned left and what she characterized as "a vindictive smear campaign" from Hollywood, while also focusing on her conservative values.

[51] In 2022, she argued on Fox News that a local school board Halloween event that had a drag queen was a front for child grooming.