Bethany Hamilton Says Losing Her Arm Was “Easier Than Becoming Famous” (EXCLUSIVE)

Nearly 15 years after being attacked by a shark while surfing near her home on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, Bethany Hamilton talks to In Touch about fame, family and succeeding against all odds.

"My life is much more than just a shark attack," Bethany, now 28, tells In Touch. "I've overcome a lot of other struggles."

The champion surfer, who married youth minister Adam Dirks in 2013, says one of those struggles was her unexpected first pregnancy with now three-year-old son Tobias. "I wasn't expecting to get pregnant when I did. I wanted a couple more years for just Adam and me. I wasn't ready — plus it happened right in the middle of filming!" Bethany reveals to In Touch.

Unstoppable, the documentary she was filming, was shot over the course of two years and will be released this summer. "It started as a small surf film, then I got pregnant [with Tobias] and it evolved. It captures our life as a family as well as some struggles we've had to deal with," Bethany explains to In Touch.

"I was hesitant to do this film, but the way it shares my life is so different than any way it's been told. I'm just excited to encourage people through whatever [challenges] they go through," she says.

Although she's showing herself in a different light in this documentary, she says she would never consider a reality TV show. "I am really protective of our home time," she says, adding that she doesn't love the scrutiny of dealing with public life since she became famous in 2003.

"I always think about how losing my arm was easier than becoming famous. I was like, 'I can deal with the arm — it's the fame that was so overwhelming and daunting!'"