MISS USA TARA CONNER SAYS SHE WAS ABUSED
Tara Conner is out of rehab and ready to talk. On Thursday's Today show, the reigning Miss USA told Matt Lauer she is confronting her demons — which include alcohol, drugs and a history of abuse in her past. Conner admitted to drinking underage and using cocaine. "For me, it all had the same effect. I was an equal-opportunity user," Conner said in her first live-television interview since treatment. "Nothing fazed me. I would take what I could get because I was trying to mask so many things that I felt inside."
Conner also hinted at childhood abouse saying she was "betrayed" by an unidentified person. "I will not deny that I have witnessed some abuse, but out of respect for my family ... this is something I need to take one day at a time." Lauer asked Conner, "Do you think this is part of the reason, what happened in your past, for the alcoholism and the addictive personality?" Conner answered: "I'm sure it could have played a part in it. There are a lot of things attached to alcoholism and addiction. And it could also be a genetic thing, or it could be an acquired taste. It's one of those things that can get you when you least expect it."
