She’s one of Australia’s most recognisable TV hosts, known for her confidence in front of the camera and compassionate interview style.
But it was Lisa Wilkinson’s turn to share her story on Thursday’s The Project, revealing she was the target of relentless bullying in high school.
The 58-year-old journalist revealed she found the experience ‘humiliating’, as she interviewed anti-bullying campaigner Lucy Thomas.
‘I felt so humiliated and small’: The Project’s Lisa Wilkinson (pictured) revealed on Thursday’s episode that she was the victim of relentless bullying in high school
‘I was bullied at school as well, Lucy, and one of the effects I realised was happening to me was I didn’t want to excel at anything,’ Lisa confessed.
She continued: ‘If I was doing well at something, that meant that I stood out and became more of a target and what it means is that kids want to disappear between the cracks, which is terrible.’
She added that bullying also has an effect on parents because they are often unsure how to tackle the problem.
While interviewing an anti-bullying campaigner, Lisa confessed: ‘I was bullied at school… and one of the effects I realised was happening to me was I didn’t want to excel at anything’
‘Also, parents feel really hopeless in these situations because they are not quite sure who to turn to,’ she explained.
Lisa confessed that she kept her parents in the dark about her experiences because she felt humiliated.
‘I didn’t tell my parents – I felt so humiliated and so small as a result of it,’ she said.
Struggle: She continued, ‘If I was doing well at something, that meant that I stood out and became more of a target’
Revealing the extent of the bullying, Lisa added: ‘Sometimes half the school would be surrounding me because the toughest girl in the school wanted to fight me.
‘It’s the most awful, humiliating moment I’ve experienced in my life and I really feel for kids.’
Lisa went on to say that while she did have supportive friends in the schoolyard, they were of little help because they would also be targeted for associating with her.
‘I did have friends around me, but it didn’t really help because they got targeted as well. If they were hanging around me, they copped it, too,’ she said.
No respite: Lisa went on to say that while she did have supportive friends in the schoolyard, they were of little help because they would also be targeted for associating with her
Light at the end of the tunnel: It wasn’t all doom and gloom, however, with Lisa offering a hopeful message to those experiencing school bullying
It wasn’t all doom and gloom, however, with Lisa offering a hopeful message to those experiencing school bullying.
When co-host Carrie Bickmore asked Lisa how the bullying stopped, she replied: ‘Those girls basically started leaving school… as they fell away I started to find myself again.’
The former Today show host explained that she eventually made a promise to herself that has proven invaluable for the rest of her life.
‘I made a promise to myself on my very last day at school,’ she said. ‘I walked out the gate and made a promise that I would never again allow somebody to decide on my behalf who I was and what I was capable of. They do go away.’
Advice: ‘I made a promise to myself on my very last day at school… that I would never again allow somebody to decide on my behalf who I was and what I was capable of’