I’m A Celebrity: the tragic life of Tziporah Malkah
Tziporah Malkah has revealed her struggles to rebuild her life. Photo: Network Ten
It was wall-to-wall stories about Tziporah Malkah, the woman formerly known as model and actress Kate Fischer, on Channel 10 on Wednesday night.
First up, an interview with Carrie Bickmore on The Project where she revealed what led her to living in a woman’s refuge in Melbourne for a couple of years. In summary, she split with James Packer, lost most of her money and had a relationship with a drop-kick who cost her the rest.
She came back to Australia with a new name, a return to Judaism and broke.
She lived anonymously while rebuilding her life until, she says, she was stalked for eight weeks by a photographer who finally got the ‘money shot’ of her walking to her letterbox, wrapped in a sheet.
“I was a princess in an ivory tower and I just didn’t see what it’s like to really, really suffer, what it’s like to be frightened about having nowhere to live,” the 43-year-old said.
Long gone was the svelte-bodied model that was Kate Fischer. Tziporah had gained a large amount of weight and the relationship with her mother, NSW MP Pru Goward, is in tatters.
“I had sort of tumbled from a great height, I had just moved back from Beverly Hills where I had my two-bed apartment and my Lexus and it was all very nice and suddenly I was totally broke.”
Then, after Channel 10 had promo-ed the hell out of a story that she was to reveal more of her struggles, it was more of Tziporah in I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!
Ex-My Kitchen Rules contestant Ash Pollard and former Miss Universe Australia Tegan Martin are watching as Tziporah prays.
“What the hell is she doing,” asks Ash.
Malkah, when she was known as Kate Fischer in Sydney in 2000. Photo: Getty
“She’s praying. Wouldn’t you think she’d step out of the camp to that like Naz [Nazeem Hussain] does,” asks Tegan. “She’s the most confident human being.
“She’s not confident,” says Ash, “it’s just something she gives off.”
“She walks around with no clothes on,” notes Tegan.
“Don’t really want to see that,” says Ash.
And the public agreed, shaming Tziporah for her lack of clothing.
Seeing Kate Fischer's plumber crack. Yeah, I'm done #ImACelebrityAU
— Rohanc (@rohancct) February 1, 2017
Put your tits away, Tziporah! #ImACelebrityAU
— Susie Chalvene (@Thorn12) February 1, 2017
Then comes the big revelation from Tziporah. She’s had an eating disorder since she was eight years old.
“My parents separated and that’s when I started overeating. Then I started not to eat and then I got a bit of bulimia and by the time I was 13, I had had a chronic eating disorder for five years.”
“I won’t eat for two or three days and then I would eat a whole Dominos pizza,” she added.
Lisa Curry was particularly moved by her story – calling it “horrific”.
Tziporah said she was taller than everybody in her class and she “felt like Shrek”.
.@TziporahMalkah opens up about her struggle with an eating disorder. #ImACelebrityAU pic.twitter.com/G5xl5z1r4u
— #ImACelebrityAU (@ImACelebrityAU) February 1, 2017
Oh man, I love #TziporahMalkah even more now, what a remarkable woman #TheProjectTV #ImACelebrityAU
— I'm Judging You (@she_likes_tv) February 1, 2017
https://twitter.com/ebonyrosemusic/status/826713217338531840
“I’ve always had a strange relationship with my body. My eyes lied when I looked in the mirror.”
Hosts Julia Morris and Dr Chris Brown looked suitably moved by Tziporah’s “remarkable revelation”. So much so, they asked everybody to jump on social media to reveal what they thought of what they’d heard.
The audience duly obliged – on Twitter in particular, where the comments were divided between messages of support and messages telling Tziporah to get a bra.
https://twitter.com/_AmandaGill/status/826729186135986176
I think #CelebTziporah is just a really strong person and it takes alot to share that with us, love your body ❤ #ImACelebrityAU
— Alexis Alison (@Lexy_Alison) February 1, 2017
https://twitter.com/crazycuddles/status/826730253775089664