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The bride says a "friendship with my school resource officer was vital in me starting to escape and find justice" and acknowledges that without the men in her life "I don’t think I’d be where I’m at today"
A bride in Washington has been getting media attention after she decided to walk down the aisle accompanied by 15 men who she said are "father figures" to her.
Ivy Jurgensen, 28, opened up with Good Morning America about her decision to have these 15 men give her away, whom she all credits with helping her get to that point in life.
"They've played huge roles in my life, in protecting and providing for me when I didn't ask them to," said Jurgensen. "So for me to honor them and for everyone to see them and who they are to me was very special for me."
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Included in the men that walked her down the aisle were her brother and uncle, her brother-in-law, and other close family friends. Additionally there was a school resource officer who inspired Jurgensen to trust law enforcement and open up about the alleged abuse she was experiencing at home.
"I started to trust my school resource officer and I realized that he had a big heart and he loved his job and that he really he did care about his students in his school and his community he served," said Jurgensen. "That fostered friendship with my school resource officer was vital in me starting to escape and find justice."
Jurgensen's father was sentenced to prison after being convicted of child molestation and rape of a child a decade ago, according to court records seen by GMA.
Jurgensen also shared that this officer is the reason she became a school resource officer as an adult.
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"Without them, I don’t think I’d be where I’m at today in my life," she said. "It was very heartwarming and just a special moment that I'm very grateful I got to share with them."
"I hope that what people take away from my story is strength. That they are able to gain courage to get and receive help that they deserve and to no longer be voiceless," said of her video going viral, which she says she did not expect. "You are not alone and deserve to be heard and get justice. Saving yourself could be saving other unknown victims."
Jurgensen even plans to write a book about her journey and how she learned to hear herself and extend the same help she received to others.
"Trauma does not define you and you can still overcome it and use your trauma to help other people escape and be free from their trauma so that they can move forward," she concluded. "My trauma does not define me. It shaped me."
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