I’m A Celebrity winner Giovanna Fletcher says ‘merciless bullies changed me’
Giovanna Fletcher has spoken about her formative years and how being bullied as a teenager has helped give her the compassion and drive to succeed leading to I’m A Celebrity win
Video Loading
Click to play
Tap to play
The video will auto-play soon8Cancel
Get all the jungle gossip with our regular email newsletter
Yes please!
Invalid Email
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! winner Giovanna Fletcher has said how merciless bullies when she was a teenager has helped get to being crowned the Queen of the Castle.
The 35-year-old author and podcast star was triumphant on the ITV show, beating Radio One DJ Jordan North to the crown in Gwrych Castle.
She has now said that school bullies helped shape her drive and personality which has given her the will to succeed after years of abuse.
The events of her childhood led to her leaving school and applying for the Sylvia Young Theatre School.
This would be life changing as, for starters, she met her husband Tom Fletcher, who went on to have success with pop band McFly.
Speaking to The Sun, Giovanna said: “I wouldn’t be the person I am today had I not been bullied — it shapes you.
“I had name calling at school between the ages of seven and nine. It was physical, too.”
Giovanna went on to recall how she would be “pushed into rose bushes” which led to the school nurse having to “pick thorns out your bottom.”
She said that the bullies were pretty much left unchecked to do what they want as in her school days it was more of a matter of “come on kids, get on with it”.
These days, bullying is taken much more seriously” but the effect of what happened to her led to Giovanna spending long periods by herself.
The mum-of-three said that it was during these times that she discovered singing.
With her confidence growing, she saw an advert for Sylvia Young and realised that theatre school was where she saw her future, so contacted them behind her parents’ back.
The Queen of the Castle said that the bullies led to her having “ time to let that imagination flourish.”
She also pointed to the experience as forming her beliefs today and she insists “I don’t think I would be as compassionate as I am… I really care about people knowing that they’re not on their own.”
MirrorCeleb