Harry Tomlinson On the Power She Found In Changing Her Name

Harry Tomlinson made a name for herself early on in this season of MasterChef Australia: Fans and Favourites when she became the first fan to win one an Immunity Pin with her delicious burnt cabbage dish.

It was later in the season, though, that we learned a little more about Tomlinson’s story, as she revealed that she actually changed her name to give herself a fresh start after being bullied throughout her younger years.

In an emotional scene, Tomlinson shared that she “was filled with self doubt, insecurities, [and] body image issues” which made her “completely retreat as a person”.

“I decided to do something really significant by changing my name from Caitlin to Harry,” Tomlinson said, and according to the MasterChef Australia contestant, the name change prompted a slew of positive changes.

“Once I became Harry, all of my self doubt disappeared and it’s given me a lot of strength and a lot of power to kind of back myself and understand that I’m worthy of doing things like applying for MasterChef,” she shared.

Speaking to POPSUGAR Australia after her elimination, Tomlinson opened up about what it was like to share such a personal story on one of Australia’s most popular shows.

“It was pretty crazy, I think when you do something like that in your life you don’t really think that you’re gonna be sharing it with the world, on such a public platform,” Tomlinson said, “but I feel really privileged to have had that platform to share my story.”

In fact, Tomlinson has had “lots of people come out of the woodworks” and share their own stories of changing their name.

“It’s got nothing to do with gender or sexuality, or anything like that, it’s literally just about autonomy in one’s self, and feeling as though you have your own ownership of yourself,” Tomlinson explained.

Calling it “a really special thing to be able to have your own name that you chose for yourself and your identity” Tomlinson said that she felt “really, really, really, really privileged that [she] was able to share that with everyone”.

MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites airs at 7.30pm on Channel 10 and 10 Play On Demand, Sunday – Thursdays.

Want more MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites? Read all of our stories here.

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