Elizabeth Smart's Husband Is a Respected Businessman in Utah

On June 5, 2002, then 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was woken up and taken from her home in Salt Lake City, Utah, by a man named Brian David Mitchell. She wouldn't be found until March 2003, when she was reunited with her family. Over the years, she turned her trauma into something that she has spoken about to help others, and along the way, she married her husband and even started a family.

Elizabeth's harrowing experience is explained in more detail than ever before in the Netflix documentary Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart. She even started the Elizabeth Smart Foundation to help fight sexual violence and empower survivors.

Although Elizabeth might have wanted her privacy at one point, especially since, as she told People, she felt like she had "lost [her] worth" after being raped repeatedly. However, these days, she is open about sharing her story, helping others, and sharing personal parts of her family life with others.

In 2012, according to CNN, Elizabeth quietly married her husband, Matthew Gilmour. Per the outlet, the couple got engaged a month previously and moved the ceremony up in order to prevent the press from getting in the way, since there had been an increasing amount of attention on Elizabeth's nuptials.

At the time, CNN reported that Elizabeth and Matthew met while Elizabeth, a lifetime member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), was on a mission trip in Paris. Matthew and Elizabeth built a friendship first, per People, and later, after they began dating, Matthew asked Elizabeth's parents for permission to propose to her.

Now, Matthew and Elizabeth have three kids. Elizabeth even uses her experiences as a kidnapping and sexual assault survivor to raise her children in a way that makes them feel safe. In 2025, she told NewsNation that one of the main things she offers her kids in terms of safety and trust is her "bubble of safety," wherein she gives them the ability to confide in her without her emotional response and instead her action to help them.

According to Matthew's LinkedIn, he attended Brigham Young University, like Elizabeth. That means he likely shares the same Mormon faith as Elizabeth and the rest of her family. Professionally, Matthew is the co-owner of Park City Host. The company offers vacation rentals in various Park City, Utah, neighborhoods. It's similar in design to Airbnb or VRBO, it seems.

For the most part, Matthew remains out of the spotlight as Elizabeth continues her work with survivors like herself. He does have his business in Park City, but it appears to be separate from Elizabeth's work. However, he is often featured on Elizabeth's Instagram when she shares photos or updates about her family.