MasterChef's Julie Goodwin opens up about mental health journey
Julie Goodwin, returning MasterChef champion, got amazingly candid about her mental health issues in Thursday’s episode of the popular cooking show – even confessing that she wasn’t sure if she was up for returning for this Fans Vs Faves season.
Goodwin's career has bubbled along quite nicely since winning season one of MasterChef back in 2009. But then in early 2020 she filled fans in on the reason for her sudden five-week absence from her breakfast radio job, explaining that she had spent more than a month in a mental health facility to get treatment for depression and anxiety.
Goodwin, who had fans rallying after a nervous first cook during Monday’s MasterChef season premiere, said that her post-win journey had been a mix of “amazing highs” along with “struggles as well.”
“I had to do some serious assessment of my mental health and wellbeing … I’d reached a point in my life where I lost my joy. I had to give up my job on the radio – I couldn’t do that anymore – and I actually couldn’t set foot in my kitchen,” she revealed.
At one point, Goodwin thought she may have been done with her cooking career forever. There was however a lingering question that lured her back for another season of MasterChef.
“I think maybe I have done everything that I was here to do, and I have achieved everything that’s possible for me to achieve … so this for me is an opportunity to see if there’s another chapter. If there’s more,” she said.
It seems there is, later in the episode, Goodwin was overcome with emotion when the judges announced her as the winner of the first immunity challenge.
“To stand here and cook a dish and have it be deemed worthy … maybe I’m not done. Maybe there’s more for me.”
Image: Channel 10