Ed and Lois Smart live separate lives after 2019 divorce

People reports that Ed and Lois Smart, the parents of Elizabeth Smart, divorced in 2019 after Ed publicly came out as gay; Ed now volunteers with Youth Futures Utah and Lois works as a public speaker.

Their daughter Elizabeth was kidnapped from her Salt Lake City home on June 5, 2002, and held for nine months before being found on March 12, 2003. Her abductors, Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, were later prosecuted: Barzee pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison in May 2010 and was released in 2018, while Mitchell was convicted in December 2010 and sentenced to life. Ed and Lois co-authored the 2003 book Bringing Elizabeth Home and have been active in advocacy around child safety.

Ed has said he is focused on personal fulfillment, telling CBS, "I plan on being happy. And I plan on having a very full life." He previously led the Elizabeth Smart Foundation and lobbied for federal laws aimed at protecting children, and now volunteers at a shelter for vulnerable youth in Ogden, Utah. Elizabeth and Ed appeared in Netflix's documentary Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, which premiered on Jan. 21, while Lois chose not to participate; the couple are now grandparents to Elizabeth's three children.

Key Topics

Culture, Ed Smart, Lois Smart, Elizabeth Smart, Brian David Mitchell, Wanda Barzee