Shine Bright Like Bella

10/29/2026

🧡 LET’S START A CONVERSATION THAT COULD CHANGE A LIFE.

What do you wish every young woman, and every young man, understood about love, self-worth, and healthy relationships?

Sometimes, the most dangerous relationships don’t begin with obvious warning signs. Sometimes, the red flags appear gradually. Sometimes, the person you love is the person you’re afraid to disappoint, hurt, or leave.

And sometimes, from the outside, no one realizes how much someone is struggling.

Bella was a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a young woman with a future full of possibilities. She believed in encouraging others, reminding them of their worth, and helping them see the good in themselves.

Through SBLB, we want to keep that spirit alive by helping young people recognize warning signs, understand what healthy love looks like, and know they deserve relationships rooted in respect, safety, and kindness.

As we close out Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we want to hear from YOU. 🧡

👇 Complete this sentence in the comments:

“I wish every young person knew __________ about love or their worth.”

Your words might be exactly what someone needs to hear today.

You never know who is quietly reading, struggling, questioning their relationship, or wondering if they matter.

Let’s fill this space with encouragement, wisdom, hope, and truth.

Because you are enough. You deserve to feel safe. And love should never cost you your sense of self.

🧡 For Bella. For survivors. For the next generation.

10/27/2026

🎤🧡 SHINE BRIGHT & SING LOUD! 🧡🎤
A Karaoke Fundraiser for Shine Bright Like Bella, Inc.
 
Get ready to grab the mic, sing your heart out, and make a difference! Join us on November 14th at Benjamin’s Pizza Kitchen & Bar for a fun-filled night of karaoke, community, and fundraising in support of Shine Bright Like Bella.
 
📅 November 14, 2026
⏰ Fundraising Event: 8:00 PM – 10:30 PM
🎶 Karaoke continues until 2:00 AM!
📍 Benjamin’s Pizza Kitchen & Bar
 
Enjoy karaoke performances, shop Shine Bright Like Bella merchandise, participate in exciting raffle opportunities, and spend an unforgettable evening supporting a meaningful cause!
 
Every contribution helps advance our mission to prevent intimate partner violence, support survivors and their families, raise awareness about mental health and su***de prevention, provide scholarships and financial assistance, and advocate for change through Bella’s Law.
 
Come for the music. Stay for the fun. Leave knowing you made a difference.
 
You don’t have to be a superstar to make an impact, just bring your friends, your voice, and your heart!
 
Let’s raise our voices, shine a little brighter, and keep Bella’s legacy alive. 🧡🎤
 
Sing • Support • Make a Difference!
 
Hosted in support of Shine Bright Like Bella, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
 

10/21/2026

💜 BELLA’S LAW UPDATE: MOMENTUM IS BUILDING!

Shine Bright Like Bella is working tirelessly to turn our family’s unanswered questions into meaningful legislative change.

📜 AN IMPORTANT MILESTONE!
Bella’s Law has been submitted to the Texas Legislative Council for drafting by Representative Canales’ office! We look forward to reviewing the draft and making necessary revisions.

💜 POSITIVE LEGISLATIVE OUTREACH
We have had productive, encouraging meetings and conversations with:
✨ Representative-elect Armin Mizani
✨ Representative Mitch Little
✨ Christopher Ludiker, from Representative Josey Garcia’s office
✨ Caitlin Brennan, from Representative Hull’s office
✨ Mike Ward, from Senator Pete Flores’ office

We appreciate their time and interest in Bella’s story and the need for stronger investigative protocols.

LOOKING BEYOND TEXAS:
We also met with Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne to discuss the possibility of expanding Bella’s Law into a national platform.

🤝 COLLABORATION MATTERS
We are grateful for the input and recommendations of Texas Council on Family Violence and Texas Advocacy Project as we work toward meaningful reform.

💜 WHAT IS BELLA’S LAW ABOUT?
✔️ Thorough, evidence-based investigations
✔️ Proper evidence collection and preservation
✔️ Assessment of IPV red flags
✔️ Independent review when warranted
✔️ Family transparency and communication
✔️ Specialized training and accountability

Bella’s Law is not about predetermining an outcome. It is about following the evidence, asking critical questions, and ensuring every reasonable investigative step is taken.
Four and a half years after losing Bella, we are still searching for answers. We cannot change what happened to our daughter, but we can fight to improve the systems serving other victims and families.

We are encouraged by the progress, but there is still work ahead. We will keep showing up, speaking out, and advocating for change.

📣 HOW YOU CAN HELP
✍️ Sign the petition: https://www.change.org/BellasLawTX
💜 Share this post.
📩 Contact your Texas legislators and ask them to support Bella’s Law.
For Bella. For truth. For families still searching. ✨

10/16/2026

💜 WHAT I WISH EVERY MOTHER KNEW

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a letter to my daughter’s killer. Today, I want to talk to you.

To the mothers raising daughters, fathers raising sons, and young people learning what love should look like.

We spend years teaching our children to be strong, work hard, persevere, and chase their dreams.

But we must also teach them to recognize those who may try to use that strength against them.

Sometimes, what we think is love is actually codependency.

Thinking we have to save someone.
Feeling responsible for their happiness.
Making excuses for their behavior.
Putting their needs before our own.
Believing if we love them harder, they’ll change.

That isn’t healthy love.

Jealousy isn’t love.
Control isn’t protection.
Isolation isn’t commitment.
Manipulation isn’t compassion.
Walking on eggshells isn’t a healthy relationship.

You cannot love someone into changing. You cannot fix them or carry the weight of their choices.

Only they can choose to change.

And for me, only Jesus can save.

Most importantly, teach your children:

YOU ARE ENOUGH.

You don’t have to earn love, prove your worth, become smaller for someone else, or lose yourself to keep them.

I wish I could have one more conversation with Bella. One more chance to tell her everything I know now.

I CAN’T.

So I will have those conversations with your daughters.

I can’t change what happened to my daughter.

But maybe Bella’s story can help change what happens to yours.

That’s why I keep going. That’s why I speak. That’s why I fight. That’s why Shine Bright Like Bella exists.

💜 Know the signs. Recognize codependency. Set boundaries. Trust your instincts. Speak up. Remember your worth.

Love should never require you to lose yourself.

Bella’s life was 24 years & 5 days.
Her legacy will be forever. ✨
— Billie
Shine Bright Like Bella

10/13/2026

💜 A THANK YOU TO CBS NEWS TEXAS | BELLA'S STORY

Our family is grateful to CBS News Texas for sharing Bella’s story and bringing attention to the questions that have remained with us since we lost our daughter.

Here is the link to the 2nd Segment that aired Friday Evening:
https://youtu.be/ySJLU9DWFAU?is=hYoR5nUaf9U0U8II

Bella was so much more than the circumstances surrounding her death. She was a daughter, sister, granddaughter, cousin, friend, athlete, coach, and a light in the lives of so many people. Her legacy is the reason we continue this work.

We are not asking anyone to predetermine what happened to Bella. We are asking for the evidence to be examined thoroughly, objectively, and independently, with every relevant question given the attention it deserves.

This is also why we continue advocating for Bella’s Law. Our goal is to strengthen investigative standards in cases involving intimate partner violence so that evidence is not overlooked, families are treated with compassion, and every death receives the diligence it deserves.

Through Shine Bright Like Bella, we will continue to honor Bella by educating, supporting survivors, advocating for meaningful change, and reminding others of the worth and light that no one should ever have to lose.

We act from a place of love and courage (One of Bella’s Affirmations). We will continue seeking answers with that same purpose.

💜 Bella’s life mattered. Her voice matters. And we believe her legacy can help protect others.

This is just the beginning of a SBLB SM series sharing Bella’s story, the questions our family continues to carry, and the purpose behind our fight for change.

We invite you to follow along, learn with us, and help us turn awareness into action.

With gratitude to CBS News Texas for giving Bella’s story a platform.

Bella's Story. Our Search for Answers. A Legacy of Change.

10/09/2026

💜 A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM BELLA’S FAMILY: PLEASE BE GENTLE WITH US.

First, thank you to everyone who has reached out, prayed for our family, shared Bella’s story, and continues to stand beside us as we search for answers.

Here is the link to last night’s CBS 11 News segment about Bella. I will share tonight’s segment as soon as it becomes available.

https://youtu.be/_ycNUAp7AIs?is=SxigXRDuP9RAwXls

Please understand that our family is feeling incredibly vulnerable right now. Sharing the most painful and private parts of our lives with the world is not easy. Some aspects of this story will be difficult to watch and hear, and we ask that you approach it with compassion, understanding, and an open heart. 💜

We are searching for the TRUTH about what happened to our daughter on May 20, 2022.

After almost four and a half years, we still have more questions than answers. Our family has not received the evidence-based explanations we need to understand what happened that evening.

We do not believe the investigation established for us that Bella took her own life, nor did it establish for us that the person who was with her did not cause her death.

We are not claiming to have all the answers. We are asking for a complete, objective, and thorough investigation that follows the evidence wherever it leads.

Bella was a passionate advocate for mental health awareness and su***de prevention. We never imagined su***de could be a possibility for our daughter. But if the evidence ultimately establishes that Bella died by su***de, we must also confront a devastating reality: intimate partner violence can have deadly consequences, including contributing to the despair and trauma that precede su***de.

Bella’s journals revealed a reality we did not fully know while she was alive - a relationship marked by abuse. That truth deserves to be taken seriously. It deserves to be investigated. And it deserves to be part of the conversation.

This is why we continue to fight for Bella’s Law: so that families facing similar unanswered questions have a better chance of receiving the thorough investigations, transparency, and accountability they deserve.

Please watch with compassion. Please share Bella’s story responsibly. And please remember that behind every headline is a family trying to navigate unimaginable loss while searching for answers.

Bella was more than a news story. She was our daughter, my Punky, and a light that will never stop shining. ✨

We will keep asking questions. We will keep advocating. And we will keep fighting for the truth.

For Bella. For survivors. For the families still searching.

💜 Shine Bright Like Bella.

More than four years after 23-year-old Isabella Nicole Gonzales die...

10/08/2026

🚨 BREAKING NEWS — BELLA’S STORY IS COMING TO CBS 11 NEWS 🚨

TONIGHT! TOMORROW NIGHT! And One More Story to Come.

⌛: 10pm

After more than four years of searching for answers, asking questions, and fighting to make sure Bella’s story is heard...

Her story is coming to television.

📺 CBS 11 News Dallas-Fort Worth is airing an exclusive, multi-part story about Isabella “Bella” Nicole Gonzales beginning TONIGHT at 10 PM.

💙 PART 1 — TONIGHT | 10 PM
💙PART 2 — TOMORROW NIGHT | 10 PM
💙PART 3 — AIRING AT A LATER DATE

Bella was 24 years old.
She was a daughter.
A sister.
A friend.
A Division I cheerleader.
A coach.
A mentor.
A woman with a beautiful future ahead of her.

And then, in May 2022, everything changed.

What happened to Bella has left our family with questions that we have spent more than four years trying to answer.

Her story is not just about what happened to one young woman.

It is about intimate partner violence.
It is about hidden warning signs.
It is about investigative accountability.
It is about families searching for truth.

And it is about why we are fighting for Bella’s Law.

Tonight, we invite you to watch.

Listen to Bella’s story.
Learn from her story.
Share her story.

And please don’t watch alone.

📲 Share this post and tag your friends, family, coworkers, and anyone who needs to hear Bella’s story.

We believe Bella’s story can educate.
We believe Bella’s story can save lives.
And we believe her story can help create change.

Tonight at 10 PM. CBS 11 News Dallas-Fort Worth.

💜 Bella’s voice deserves to be heard.

Her life mattered.
Her story matters.
Her legacy is just beginning.

10/07/2026

SAVE THE DATE
UNBROKEN: Pearls, Prayer, & Purpose

💄 Red Lipstick Gala 2027 💄

📅 April 24, 2027

Join us for an unforgettable evening of empowerment, hope, remembrance, and change as we come together to raise our voices, honor survivors, remember those we’ve lost, and continue the fight to end intimate partner violence.

Because we may be tested.
We may be broken open by life.

But we are UNBROKEN.

Pearls — the beauty that can emerge from adversity.
Prayer — the faith that carries us through.
Purpose — the reason we keep going and the lives we strive to change.

Details coming soon!

Mark your calendar. Gather your people.
And get ready to Shine Bright Like Bella. ✨❤️

10/01/2026

💜 A Letter to My Daughter’s Killer
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

For our family, domestic violence isn't a statistic. It has a face, a name, a laugh, a beautiful smile.

Her name is Bella Nicole Gonzales.

On that day, you forever altered the path of our family.

You didn't just take Bella's life. You took birthdays, holidays, milestones, family dinners, and every future moment we were supposed to share with her.

You left behind a devastation that no family can truly understand unless they have been forced to live it.

You took my daughter.
My only daughter.
My Punky.

And there will never be a day that I don't feel the weight of that loss.

I struggle to understand how someone could look at the beautiful, vibrant, compassionate woman Bella was and become the source of such unimaginable destruction.

You were Satan's puppet.

But you did not get to take everything -
You did not take her light.
You did not take the love she gave us.
You did not take the memories.
You did not take the words she left behind.
You did not take her purpose.
And you did not take her voice.

Bella is still speaking -
She speaks through survivors finding the courage to leave.
Through young women learning the warning signs of abuse.
Through mothers who recognize that something isn't right.
Through families demanding answers.
And through Shine Bright Like Bella.

I will never understand why God allowed my daughter to be taken from us. I will never understand why her story had to become this painful.

But I know this:
I will not let Bella's death be meaningless.

This Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I am asking you to look beyond the statistics.

Learn the signs.
Recognize coercive control.
Believe survivors.
Check on the people you love.
And don't wait until abuse becomes visible to take it seriously.

I will fight for Bella.
I will fight for truth
I will fight for survivors.
I will fight for families who deserve answers.
And I will fight for laws that ensure another victim's death is never dismissed without a thorough and comprehensive investigation.
You changed our family forever.

But you did not get to write the ending of Bella's story….We will!

Bella's life mattered.
Bella's voice mattered.
Bella's legacy matters.

I am Bella's Mom.

And I will never stop fighting for my Punky.

💜 This October, raise your voice. Break the silence. End abuse.

Her life was 24 years & 5 days.
Her legacy will be forever!

09/30/2026

💜 BELLA’S LIGHT

You don’t have to give a lot. You just have to give what you can!

A small monthly gift can become something powerful over time:

✨ $10/month = $120/year — Light a Spark
💜 $25/month = $300/year — Shine Bright
📣 $50/month = $600/year — Be the Voice
🤍 $100/month = $1,200/year — Stand With Her
🌟 $250/month = $3,000/year — Bella’s Champion
👑 $500+/month = $6,000+/year — Legacy Circle

There is no gift too small when it is given with purpose.

Your monthly support helps us provide resources for survivors, education, prevention, scholarships, and advocacy for meaningful change.

Bella’s life mattered. Her story matters. And what we do with her legacy matters. 💜

✨ Become Bella’s Light today.

Join Bella’s Light⁠

One monthly gift. One steady light. One more reason to hope.

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/bellas-light