When Bunnie Holbert competed in the 1977 Miss America pageant, she says it was the proudest moment of her life. It's hard to believe that same beauty queen once cleaned toilets, mopped floors, and picked up cigarette butts.
"Never in my wildest dreams would I ever dream that I'd be in a homeless shelter," Bunnie said.
In an INSIDE EDITION exclusive, the onetime Miss America contestant described her slow spiral from suburban mom to alcoholic who was living in her car.
"What little money I did have I'd buy crackers and water, but I would sleep in my car," she said.
Bunnie says her troubles began when she divorced her husband in 2001. Jobless, she sold the ranch style house in North Little Rock to pay nearly $200,000 in bills.
Then when her drinking got out of control she ran out of money and couldn't afford her small apartment. She says she's estranged from her family.
"I'd go for days sometimes without taking a bath or brushing my hair or brushing my teeth," Bunnie told INSIDE EDITION.
INSIDE EDITION took Bunnie back to her old neighborhood for the first time since she left. "I miss it, I want to go home," she said, tears streaming down her face.
Bunnie recently lived in a homeless shelter in Little Rock called "Our House." She showed INSIDE EDITION her bed and rack of clothes.
Bunnie still cherishes her memories of the Miss America pageant, where she actually competed against Jonbenet Ramsey's mother, Patsy.
Even though she had to live in a shelter, Bunnie hasn't lost that beauty queen aura. She even wore pearls and jewelry as she went about her chores at the shelter cleaning up after the other residents.
Shelter director Georgia Mjartan is still amazed she had a celebrity living there. "It's amazing that someone who has been Miss Arkansas can become homeless," she told INSIDE EDITION.
Bunnie says she's been sober since October and there is great news for Bunnie. Her perspective has paid off. She has now moved out of the shelter and will attend cosmetology school where she won a scholarship.