Australian Idol 2023: Kyle Sandilands shocks judge Amy Shark Meghan Trainor with a revelation

Kyle Sandilands has found a common connection with an Australian Idol contestant who shared her struggles with homelessness.

The judge revealed something “you may not know” – that he was homeless for a year as a teenager.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Kyle Sandilands reflects on his year as a homeless person

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Isabella Vicente, 25, told the judges her life has been “a bit of a roller coaster ride — a few ups and downs.”

Kyle noticed her hesitation and asked Darwin’s candidate what had happened in her life.

She shared that by the time she was about 18, she became “pretty much homeless” and “couldn’t afford to keep paying the rent.”

As a result, Isabella explained that she had been living in an abandoned shed with no running water or a front door.

“Comparing my life now to how it was then is like black and white,” she said, revealing that she is now in a “stable” relationship with one child.

“I have my own lovely little family.”

Empathizing with Isabella, Kyle shared his own struggle with homelessness.

“Well, you might not know this, but I was homeless for a year when I was 15,” he shared.

“So it’s not easy.

“Getting out of this situation and making your life matter, that’s impressive, just getting out of this situation. Because most people don’t,” he told her.

Surprised by Kyle’s revelation, Isabella told Kyle that she “didn’t know that about you.”

Fellow judge Amy Shark agreed, adding, “Me neither, I don’t think either of us did that,” as fellow judges Meghan Trainor and Harry Connick Jr. agreed.

“Maybe I’m not saying it often enough,” Kyle suggested, adding that being homeless is “hard to talk about.”

“It’s not easy, you don’t want to go around saying it. It’s a bit embarrassing sometimes,” he said.

Isabella went on to sing Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game, with the judges calling her “talented” and “unique”.

Kyle said he’s “immersed in everything” and that there are things he enjoys and things he doesn’t like.

“It was different than what I’m used to, but I have to think about it,” he told her.

In the end, Harry, Amy and Kyle all gave Isabella a yes vote and sent her into the top 50.

Kyle has previously shared details about his homeless year and how it may have shaped his famous tough love style.

“I don’t think I was very well educated, and being away from home at a pretty young age, homeless at 15, I just didn’t know that much,” he told 7Life in January.

“So I was really quite innocent.

And (I’ve always been anyway) a pretty honest person, but I think when you’re hopping around unsupervised as a teenager you get a little rigid, a little tougher, a little rough around the edges.

“So I got a little bit of an attitude.”

Australian Idol continues Sunday at 7pm AEDT on Channel 7 and 7plus.

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