Carl Edwards is one of the most loved NASCAR drivers in history. His iconic backflips after reaching victory lane used to send the crowds into an unparalleled frenzy. It is rather surprising that even such a popular and admired star such as him could have had a dark side. Amanda Beard, a seven-time Olympic medal-winning swimmer, is at the crux of this story.
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Edwards and Amanda dated for two years, from 2005 to 2006. In her memoir titled In the Water, They Can’t See You Cry, she talks about how controlling and manipulative Edwards had been in the relationship. She says that the driver only cared about himself and seldom paid attention to her or her interests.
In her words, “He never asked me what I might like to do because he only wanted to be on Carl time. He couldn’t imagine any other kind of time.” Edwards was two years older than her. She also claims that the driver prohibited her from having conversations with his racing competitors and from wearing sexy swimsuits for magazine photo shoots.
She dedicates 16 pages of the 256-page book to talking about their relationship in length and reveals that things had to end due to Edward’s jealous nature and the lack of communication between them. Following the release of the book, the driver was asked for his opinion in 2012. He refused to speak anything ill about his former girlfriend.
The book also contains pages in which Amanda talks about her issues with drug usage. Edwards said, “I considered us friends, and I didn’t realize she had all those problems. I would have done anything in the world to help her with those. Regardless of what she writes in a book, if she ever needs something from me, I’d be there to help her out.”
He also noted that the allegations that she made against him had caught him off guard and that he would dispute them if he knew where to start.
However, he stood strong about not wanting to hit back at her. He added, “I want to be very clear: I’m not going to bash her. I’m not going to say bad things about her because I didn’t know all that stuff was going on.”
It is notable that Dale Jarrett and Mark Martins were well-wishers of Amanda and that they’d inspired her to continue swimming after the 2004 Athens Olympics. Edwards married Dr. Kate Downey in 2009 and has two children with her. Amanda married photographer Sacha Brown that same year and has two children as well.
