'Top Model' Reveals Past Domestic Abuse

The Puerto Rico-born Gonzalez recalls one incident in which which she feared for her life. "There was a moment where I was suffocated, and that was something I thought would never happen," she tells "The Insider."

"I thought I was going to die. I really lost my breath -- I was trying to hard to get him off of me. But then it just came to the point where he let me go."

She says the level of violence she experienced made her want to reach out to help others. "And that's why I really want to speak about and share my story because girls think that it's okay to go back to the situation and go back into the cycle when all it does is only escalates." 

Gonzalez, 22, is the spokesperson for fashion designer Liz Claiborne's Love is Not Abuse Foundation, which is designed to raise awareness about domestic abuse and inspire victims to get help. The foundation can be reached at 1-866-331-9474.

Published 3/11/09 by