MELISSA LEONG IS SITTING cross-legged on the couch in front of me in a hotel room. She is petite, smaller than she looks on television, and her face is open and bright. There is something about her; that thing that people talk about, the star quality. And, of course, one baulks at the term, but it’s true. Small but mighty, with a little bit of kick.
We’ve just wrapped a zestful few hours shooting our first Australian Women’s Health cover since relaunching this year. Down in the belly of The Rocks, Sydney, it has been a sun-drenched morning in an undeniably perfect setting. The forest green cast-iron fence trails towards the imposing white sails of the Opera House that jut out into the sky like ivory scythes. Overhead the roof of the Sydney Harbour Bridge makes our voices echo, reminding us of our relative size. That bright light of early autumn danced off Mel’s shoulders as she jumped and swayed in front of the camera.
Despite her 4am start, back in the room Mel’s characteristic verve is undimmed. If she’s tired, she doesn’t show it. In fact, a beam of positive energy has touched everyone she’s worked with today. One moment she’s sparring with Richard, the hairstylist, who is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, the next she’s walking alongside me in pursuit of another outfit change, easily recalling a number she’ll never forget – 2464. Because it’s the amount of die-hard Jamie Oliver fans Mel sat in front of at the Opera House at the end of last year as she interviewed the beloved chef. And, yes, Mel did get nervous beforehand. She is, indeed, human.
As the morning ticks on, I realise that while those white sails in the background leave most of us awestruck, for Mel they signify one of life’s crescendos. Because not 40 or so kilometres from here, she grew up, like many of us, in a perfectly ordinary suburban bubble, which couldn’t have been more different to the grand backdrop of today. It’s a lesson for anyone who’s ever wanted to take a bite out of life’s apple: what you seek may be closer than it seems.
Calvin Klein jacket, $229, Aje Athletica top, $125, PE Nation pants, $109, New Balance sneakers, $240, OMEGA De Ville Trésor watch, $8150, Melissa’s own Dior sunglasses.
MEL’S PARENTS, who migrated from Singapore in the ’70s, set down roots in the Sutherland Shire, seeking to give Mel and her younger brother every opportunity in life. ‘Fitting in’ was a primary concern. After all, as she observes, “Isn’t that what every child wants to do? Fit in with their community?”
Seeking that cloak of acceptance, though, has come at a cost. While new ties have been formed, cultural-historic ties with her Singaporean and Chinese heritage have been cut. Mel reflects on the grieving she has done for the parts of herself that she suppressed and gave away: “I think that the older I get the more – and I think this happens with everybody – you look back to who you were in order to understand where you’re going. Not only to continue on but also to make peace with who you were before.”
She has had intimate, soul-baring conversations with her mother on the effects of that girlhood lunge for acceptance; the loss of language, clothing, traditions. “We had this very tearful conversation over the phone about her time as a registered nurse, and how she did her very best to assimilate,” Mel says “She would eschew her language skills, speak a certain way, dress a certain way; she never spoke any of the multiple languages she holds.” As Mel recounts this, on the verge of tears, it’s clear to see that this grieving is ongoing; the push and pull between a historic identity and an evolving sense of self.
It’s no secret that Mel has battled with clinical depression and anxiety. They are part of who she is, “and I’m good with that,” she explains. Over time she’s learned to identify the warning signs: “The cacophony of thoughts crash on the shore of my brain, and I can feel the cortisol being released in my chest. That’s how I know when it’s coming.”
For her, she’s found, anxiety is linked to burnout. “You’d think you’d learn the first time,” she says, shrugging then laughing. “But it happens every so often. And at that point I know I need to listen to my body, I don’t push myself.”
Sometimes, when the darkness descends, she doesn’t want to leave the house. And how very reassuring that is. Because don’t we all feel that from time to time? The need to take a moment. To breathe in our own space.
“I try to be kind to myself and say, Well, if you don’t want to, and you don’t have to, then don’t until you feel like you can. And when you feel like you can, even just a little bit, then go and do something. Buy toilet paper at the supermarket or go wander around your favourite bookstore. And then once you’ve achieved that goal, you can come home again and you start to realise it’s not so bad, and then all of a sudden it doesn’t feel so catastrophic. So that’s how I manage my anxiety. That and therapy. Amen to therapy.”
It’s no surprise, then, that Mel identifies as an introvert. She reminisces about finding comfort in encyclopaedias in her bedroom at a young age, preferring to sidestep playing outside with kids from the neighbourhood. She clarifies that it’s not that she didn’t enjoy being with people. “It just means that’s not where I generally get my charge from. Two, three people in a room. Perfect. That’s great. It’s ideal. But 20, 30 people in a room on a regular basis, I might enjoy it, but it’s not where I derive my energy and spark from.”
Lacoste shirt, $230, shorts, $125, Aje Athletica top (worn underneath), $125, Lululemon shoes, $89, OMEGA De Ville Trésor watch, $8150.
AS MEL PORES over the hotel lunch menu, lingering and agonising over plump prawn cocktails, flatbread with bitey chimichurri, or mini golden tuna tacos (we ordered all three), it’s a surprise to learn that the kitchen wasn’t always her playground. When it came to entering the world of food, Mel sort of fell into it. It started with some food writing, preceded by stints as a makeup artist and ad-land copywriter and producer. In mid-2019, when whispers of becoming a judge on MasterChef swirled, initially Mel had reservations, especially about stepping into other’s shoes.
“I said, no, I didn’t want it. And I made it pretty public that I didn’t want it. I posted a picture of [the news article] and I said, ‘This is so flattering’, but I wouldn’t want to do this job. My predecessors had a tremendously stratospheric rise, and it benefited their lives immensely. But it also made their private lives public fodder. And that, I felt, was deeply unfair. And so I was aware that if I were to sign up to something like this, the anonymity I prized so much being a journalist would no longer exist.”
Mel then describes a subsequent sense of empowerment and defiance – a feeling of, ‘why not?’. It was a realisation that she not only had the tools to do this but could use the space to help others: to wear emerging Australian designers, to support specific businesses that she was aligned with. These were thoughts that occurred to her even before she contemplated the responsibility and pride associated with being a woman of colour in the mainstream media. And if she were to fail? “That’s where we learn the most,”she says. “It teaches us so much more than success.” Cue the bright lights of television.
After the heights of MasterChef, Mel has been slowly revealing layers of herself. Gone are the days of a more two-dimensional character– a woman who wore fabulously flamboyant garments and ate fabulously flambé’d food. That caricature has been replaced by a three-dimensional figure: a pared-back, multifaceted Mel; a mixed martial arts fan, a perfume enthusiast, an author of long-form essays, all the while staying true to her primetime cooking-show roots. She’ll reprise her co-hosting of the MasterChef spinoff, Dessert Masters, when its second season airs later this year. Think 10 professional pastry chefs plating and proffering sweet dishes with an eye – or two – on a $100,000 prize. All in all, these days it’s a little bit of old Mel, and a lot of new.
Even today, beneath the athleisure wear and Omega watch, she’s sporting blue-brown bruises from the prior morning’s jiu-jitsu class in Melbourne. When she’s not perfecting leaning arm bars or learning how to ‘get out of a mount’, she’s telling me about her current scent fixation – cardamom – explaining that, like its use in food, it’s visceral and aromatic. “It’s silvery and cool,” she explains. And I find myself thinking about cardamom for the rest of the day.
Lululemon vest, $279, Aje Athletica top, $125 The Upside pants, $189, OMEGA speedmaster 38 watch, $38,800.
When it comes to food, there’s no doubt she sees it as a microcosm of life. She collects plates and morsels – truffles, if you like – in the same way that she accrues moments and adventures. As a freelancer at heart, ‘yes’ is her mantra. “If it’s exciting, if it lights me up, if it’s something that takes me into a space I’ve never been to before, then chances are I’ll probably say yes. And I’m just really lucky that I get to work with networks that trust me, networks that give me room to grow and to explore other facets of who I am.
“I think the lesson is to dare to dream and to say yes to zany opportunities, because you just don’t know what’s around the corner.”
HAVING JUST CELEBRATED her 42nd birthday, Mel is placing more importance on wellness than ever before. “My mum had fairly early-onset menopause, so I’m aware that that’s in my nearish future. I want to set myself up for success in that regard. I want to continue to wake up and feel good and to have the energy to do the work that I want to. So I’m putting a lot of energy into figuring out what that means for me.”
And what does it mean? It’s a two-pronged approach, supporting both her mental and physical health. Beyond Pilates, Mel dedicates time each week to recovery activities such as infrared sauna and cryotherapy. And for a self-confessed “warm- shower girl”, ice baths were a big, but ultimately welcome shock to the system. The trick? Distraction. Take a mate, she instructs, and you’ll get hooked.
The Upside jacket, $240, dress, $189, Georg Jensen bracelet, $1100, OMEGA Seamaster Aqua Terra Shades watch, $10,975.
Food is pivotal, too, with Mel explaining that while she has primarily communicated on the romance and sensory experience of it, the healing and nourishing dimension of food is something that fascinates her. Ultimately, Mel wants to marry a scientific approach to food with the undeniable joy it can bring.
“I love listening to nutritionists and naturopaths and dieticians and sports scientists talk about food and how to kind of leverage nutrition to help you do that. I feel like it can meet in the middle and you can enjoy food and nourish your body and have it do good things for you. I don’t think you need to have these things to the exclusion of one another.”
What’s next? When asked about the path ahead, Mel shares a saying that I’m certain will be an earworm for life: “I’ll know what I know, when I know.” And that seems like the best note on which to conclude our chat. A household name, sitting cross-legged in front of me in the early afternoon light, bruised and cheerful, layered and interesting, having taken a big, rewarding bite out of the apple and yet just as equally unaware of what’s in store for herself as we all are. Albeit with an air of warmth and excitement . . . and a sprinkle of cardamom.
Aje Athletica coat, $325, The Upside top, $100, Nagnata skirt, $260, Veja shoes, $230, OMEGA Seamaster Aqua Terra Shades watch, $31,225, Melissa’s own earrings – worn throughout.
In the hero image, Mel wears Emporio Armani jacket, $1450, top, $1050, shorts, $420, Golden Goose sneakers, $830, Gentle Monster frames, $405, Georg Jensen bangles, (L-R) $875, $550, OMEGA Seamaster Aqua Terra Shades watch, $10,975.
Photographer: Steven Chee
Creative director and stylist: Grant Pearce
Talent: Melissa Leong
Hair: Richard Kavanagh
Makeup: Nicole Thompson
