MasterChef’s Julie Goodwin: ‘I was done’ before granddaughter came along

Celebrity chef Julie Goodwin has revealed her major reason for pushing on after a mental health breakdown saw her admitted to hospital.

Celebrity chef Julie Goodwin has revealed her major reason for pushing on after a mental health breakdown saw her admitted to hospital.

The 51-year-old TV favourite said becoming a grandmother to son Tom’s daughter, Delilah, completely changed her outlook and gave her purpose in the toughest of times.

“In the midst of that really awful time I had decided that I was done,” Goodwin tells the latest issue of Australian Women’s Weekly, on shelves from Thursday.

“I had nothing left to do, my work here was done. That’s where I found myself. That landed me in hospital a bunch of times.”

She continued: “So, I’m trying to figure out if my life here is not done, then what the hell is it? Delilah is obviously a massive part of that. She’s a tiny little human who I want to be around for. But you know, I can’t live my whole life for her. And I’ve just got to work out what the rest of it is for.”

In an interview with AWW, Goodwin reveals the impact her granddaughter Delilah has had on her life. Picture: Julie Adams for Australian Women’s Weekly

MasterChef Australia season one winner Julie Goodwin with runner-up Poh Ling Yeow.

It was in January 2020 that Goodwin was first hospitalised in a psychiatric unit. Two years earlier, Goodwin was caught drink driving and fined $600 and a six-month licence suspension for a blood alcohol reading of 0.107.

The personal battles were well publicised at the time and prompted the mother of three to re-evaluate her life as it was. She pulled back from business and public life with her breakfast radio career shelved.

MasterChef Australia contestant Julie Goodwin.

New issue of Australian Women’s Weekly.

Now though, she is returning to the spotlight on the reality TV format that made Goodwin a household name in 2009 as much loved winner of the first ever season of MasterChef Australia.

She is one of the contestants on MasterChef Fans & Favourites that premieres on Ten tonight, a decision she conceded to not being sure of at the time.

“I wasn’t in the best place,” she told the magazine. “If you did an analysis of coming back on just in terms of mental health you’d say, ‘Don’t be an idiot’. I’d only just gone back to work and it was supervised – just a few hours one morning a week.”

Ultimately though, the decision was made as part of “exploring what the hell is next”.

As for 15-month-old Delilah, Goodwin is grateful for the strong bond she formed with her as son Tom and partner Crystal lived with her and husband Michael through Covid lockdowns.

It was a precious time despite the uncertainty in the world.

Julie Goodwin with her husband, Michael, and their sons when they were teenagers. Picture: Scott Mark

“I’m so grateful I get to have this important relationship with Delilah,” Goodwin said.

“It opens you up to things in other relationships. I got to see my first son be a brother and now I get to see my sons become uncles. They’re beautiful, they adore her.

“But my favourite is watching the husband I’ve loved since I was a child be a Poppy. He is pathetic. He’s wrapped around that little finger so hard. When he babysits, he won’t let her cry. It’s like, you’ve got to let her cry for a few minutes before she goes to sleep. Tom and Crystal will get home and he’s still bobbing around with her and Delilah’s having a party.

“He’s the epitome of the grandparent who spoils.”