Bethany Hamilton Went on Masked Singer to Inspire People After Her Nephew's Death: ‘Very Purposeful’ (Exclusive)

Nearly one month after the tragic death of her three-year-old nephew, Bethany Hamilton says she's "grateful" for the opportunity to participate in season 12 of Fox's The Masked Singer.

"Anytime I go in the public eye is to remind people of overcoming the hardships in life," Hamilton, 34, tells PEOPLE exclusively as she's unmasked as Macaron on the Wednesday, Nov. 13 episode of the show.

The surfer — who was 13 when she lost her arm in a 2003 shark attack — says she had never seen the popular singing competition series before being asked to participate. "When I first got invited, I thought that they were going to bring me on as a judge — I literally had no clue," says Hamilton.

A mother of four, Hamilton admits her singing experience was limited before the show. "I sing to my children every single day, but I wouldn't say it's my gift and life talent," she jokes. "Maybe I'll stick to surfing."

But Hamilton couldn't pass up the opportunity to reach millions of viewers through The Masked Singer.

"We all will face hardship at some point or another in our life, and I really just wanted to encourage people to know that they can endure and persevere, and so much good and beauty can come from some of the most awful things in life," she says.

On Saturday, October 19, Hamilton announced the tragic death of her three-year-old nephew, Andrew, who was taken to a hospital on Oct. 11 after drowning.

"The Lord has received my sweet nephew Andrew into his beautiful care," she wrote in a post on Instagram. "While my family and I will miss him dearly, we trust that his joy is full with Jesus."

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As she closes her chapter on The Masked Singer, Hamilton says she "loved the challenge" and calls her experience "such a joy."

"I feel like I'm living a dual life," says Hamilton. "But I think my greatest purpose right now is, for sure, raising my children to be secure and confident overcomes themselves."

Hamilton shares four children with her husband Adam Dirks: Micah, 3, Wesley, 6, Tobias, 9, and Alaya, who was born in Jan. 2023.

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She says Tobias has recently been "getting really into surfing" — a "dream come true" for Hamilton and her husband. "We've been doing some family surf sessions, so I'll have my three-year-old on my board with me and then my husband has our one-and-a-half-year-old on his board, and my two older boys are catching waves on their own."

Hamilton, a motivational speaker and author, says she's currently focusing on launching the Bethany Hamilton Network soon. "It'll be a family network to inspires people to overcome, to keep connected, to live lives of faith," she shares. "I just love everything that I do, so it feels very purposeful."