MasterChef Australia's inaugural winner Julie Goodwin has spoken candidly about her mental health struggles, revealing she lost her joy and could not set foot in her kitchen after being hospitalised. The 50-year-old, now a contestant on the show's Fans v Faves spinoff, shared her journey on Thursday night's episode, 13 years after winning the first season.
Goodwin, who has written six cookbooks and runs a cooking school, said she had lived with depression and anxiety 'on and off over many years' before being put on medication in 2019. In 2020, she was voluntarily hospitalised for five weeks. '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,' she said.
She described being unable to continue her radio job and avoiding her kitchen entirely. Returning to television was daunting: 'I think maybe I have done everything that I was here to do … so this for me is an opportunity to see if there's another chapter.' After winning the first challenge, she tearfully admitted she had doubted her ability to return.
In a 2020 letter to radio listeners, Goodwin detailed her hospitalisation, noting her husband Mick recognised her crisis and took her to the emergency room. She was referred to an acute care team, then a psychiatrist, who recommended inpatient care. In an interview with Australian Women's Weekly this month, she revealed she had been suicidal during that period.
Goodwin said her success on Fans v Faves made her feel 'maybe I'm not done. Maybe there's more for me.' She addressed viewers directly: 'Everybody walks their own way through depression or anxiety. But if I had a message to give it would just be, just don't give up.'
