Iyanla Vanzant dedicates her life to helping others regain control over difficult circumstances, so it's good to hear that Vanzant was able to do the same for herself in the past. In a promotional clip for an upcoming episode of Vanzant's Iyanla: Fix My Life series on OWN, she reveals how she managed to leave an abusive relationship.
"After I got hit in my head with a bed slat, I woke up at three o'clock in the morning and something said to me, 'If you don't leave here now, he's going to kill you,'" she says. "And I creeped out of the bed and I got a bag of clothes for each of my kids and one for me. And I left."
"I had nowhere to go, I had no money to get there — I didn't even care," she continued. "But I had to be willing to lose everything to gain it all."
And we're so glad she did. She's helped so many countless others work through their issues and find the strength to overcome obstacles. But still, the life coach is adamant about making the decisions that are best for you, which she stresses when advising a guest, Janetria, currently in an abusive relationship.
"I'm not advocating at all for the ending of your marriage," she explained. "I'm advocating for the beginning of your life."
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(Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Women in Cable Telecommunications)