As she celebrates 10 years as co-host of Today, the mum-of-three bares her soul.
Watching her each morning on Today, Lisa Wilkinson is the flawless epitome of a woman with huge confidence, a ready smile, fierce intelligence and a willingness to battle for what’s right.
But when she was growing up, it was a very different Lisa who faced the start of each day. As a teenager she’d wake up fearful and terrified, looking for ways to blend into the background rather than stand out.
The 57-year-old TV host was the victim of relentless bullying – both physical and verbal – that she still can’t believe she survived.
It would get to the point, she says, where every day she was in fear of a gang of girls at her school.
“I felt so powerless,” Lisa tells Woman’s Day of her experience, which was at its height in her mid-teens. “I still don’t know how I survived it because every day I went to school I didn’t know if I was going to get beaten up.
“I became really good at hiding it. I hid it from my parents. I even hid it from my girlfriends because I didn’t want them to be subjected to the bullying as well.
“I would isolate myself so they didn’t become part of it because I felt so completely humiliated.”
This story is from the 29 May 2017 edition of Woman's Day Australia.
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This story is from the 29 May 2017 edition of Woman's Day Australia.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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