Jesinta Campbell: Mum and I beat the bullies

Behind the bright smile, the beauty queen turned TV star has had her troubles, as Shari Nementzik finds out.

On the surface, The Celebrity Apprentice star Jesinta Campbell appears to have it all – beauty, brains and fame. But only a few years ago the former Miss Universe contestant was the target of school bullies. The sporty stunner went through high school and her turbulent teenage years feeling isolated and alone. Fortunately, Jesinta, 20, had her biggest fan – her mother, Valerie, 46 – by her side and they beat the bullies together.

Following an ideal time at primary school on Queensland’s Gold Coast, things turned sour. “A girl from my primary school moved to the same high school as me, and she had started a rumour before I even got there and told everyone not to be my friend,” Jesinta says. “So of course when everyone was pairing up for the first day of high school, no-one wanted to pair up with me or be my buddy.”

She was lucky to have her mum to confide in. “We cried together at times,” Valerie admits. “When she was upset, I would say, ‘Darling, you are not a victim. Focus on the goodness in that person and see that. They are just behaving badly, that’s all. Focus on where you want to go in life and that will get you through. This is an opportunity to grow.”

Eventually, Jesinta changed schools to escape the bullying at the hands of her peers. “Mum used to tell me that people’s opinions of you don’t define you,” she says. “It is how you choose to react to them and how you behave as a person that defines you and what people will remember you for.” Her mum’s words of wisdom have also helped Jesinta deal with drama in the boardroom on the hit series The Celebrity Apprentice.