Victoria Cuore Goes Live From Pre-Op to Open Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Victoria Cuore, founder of the support organization A Contagious Smile, announced plans to broadcast live from her pre-operative room on October 1, the opening day of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The Atlanta-based advocate, who has endured more than 120 surgeries stemming from injuries sustained during an abusive relationship, said she would use the moment before another procedure to deliver a message aimed at survivors and the people who love them: "I believe you."

A Broadcast Timed to a National Observance

Domestic Violence Awareness Month has been recognized in the United States since the late 1980s, growing out of a 1981 "Day of Unity" organized by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The observance has since become a fixture for advocacy organizations worldwide each October.

Cuore's decision to go live from a hospital pre-op room places her personal medical reality directly alongside that public awareness effort. The timing is deliberate, linking a recurring medical burden to a calendar moment meant to center survivor stories.

Cuore survived domestic violence while pregnant with her daughter, and she has said the consequences of abuse can continue long after a survivor escapes, with medical procedures, emotional pain, and the work of rebuilding a life stretching across years. Her appearance is intended to acknowledge that extended timeline rather than treat recovery as a single event.

"I am going live from my pre-op room to show you that you are not going through this alone. I went through all of the aftermath alone, and I don't want that for anyone else. I believe you. I believe in you. You deserve to be heard, valued, and supported."

— Victoria Cuore, Founder, A Contagious Smile

The Physical Toll Behind the Message

Cuore is completely deaf in her right ear and has lost approximately 88% of the hearing in her left. She has had both jaws and a shoulder replaced, undergone multiple spinal surgeries, and is a left below-elbow amputee. Those details are presented by the organization as part of a deliberate effort to document the lasting physical cost of abuse rather than treat it as a closed chapter.

She shares her experiences openly to make the lasting consequences of domestic violence visible and help others feel less alone. Beyond her own account, she will also speak to friends and family members about supporting a survivor: listening without blame, respecting their decisions, and offering care without demanding disclosure or a particular timeline.

That guidance speaks to a frequent gap in how domestic violence is discussed publicly: attention often concentrates on the acute incident or the escape, with far less focus on the years of medical and emotional aftermath that can follow, including repeated surgeries, hearing loss, and mobility changes of the kind Cuore describes.

A Peer Support Model Built on Choice

Cuore built A Contagious Smile around a directory that connects survivors, caregivers, and loved ones with peer support partners who have relevant lived experience. Its peer-to-peer support directory allows survivors, caregivers, and loved ones to learn about support partners with relevant lived experience and choose whom they would like to contact, with visitors deciding what to share, how quickly to move, and whether to continue the conversation. For someone whose voice and decisions have been dismissed or controlled, that choice matters.

The organization frames this model as a complement to, not a substitute for, formal channels. Peer support complements emergency, medical, mental health, and legal services. That positioning distinguishes the directory from crisis hotlines or clinical referral services, placing it instead alongside them as an additional point of contact.

Founded in 2006, A Contagious Smile offers educational resources, podcasts, and programs for survivors, caregivers, special-needs families, veterans, and people navigating grief, disability, or chronic illness, and its multi-award-winning Academy has provided more than 900 scholarships. Cuore and her husband, Michael, have funded the work themselves and have never taken a paycheck from it, and as the community has grown internationally, sustaining that commitment has become increasingly difficult.

Recognition, a Podcast Contest, and an Apparel Brand

Cuore has received more than 14 awards, including two Lifetime Humanitarian Awards, and was named #2 Top Women Leader in Empowerment 2026. Alongside the Academy, she and her husband run an apparel and gift brand called Stronger Than A Mountain. Its name reflects the strength people carry through experiences others may never see, connected to their commitment to survivors, caregivers, veterans, and people living with disability.

Cuore also hosts a podcast with a sizable independent following. A Contagious Smile Podcast, which Listen Notes ranks among the top 5% of podcasts globally on its platform, features conversations with survivors, advocates, and caregivers. She has also been selected to compete in Top Host 2026, where the grand prize includes a six-episode podcast produced by iHeartRadio, $25,000, and a guest appearance on an episode of On Air with Ryan Seacrest.

Cuore hopes the opportunity will extend the work she has dedicated her life to, giving survivors, caregivers, and families a place to speak honestly and feel heard, with a vision of a podcast where listeners can find understanding, practical resources, and hope. Public voting for the contest opens October 5, 2026, at 1 p.m. Eastern / 10 a.m. Pacific.

Cuore's pre-op broadcast adds a personal, medical dimension to a month typically dominated by statistics and hotline numbers. Whether the Top Host 2026 contest expands her platform or not, the structure she has already built, a self-funded peer directory, scholarship program, and long-running podcast, positions her message to reach well beyond a single livestream.