Laura Sharrad finally won MasterChef. Then came the comments.

Laura Sharrad has achieved her lifelong dream.

She was crowned the winner of MasterChef Australia 2025, marking a full-circle moment in her journey with the reality show that kickstarted her career.

After finishing as runner-up in both Season 6 in 2014 and Season 12 in 2020, Laura finally claimed the coveted trophy in this year's Back To Win season, outpacing fellow finalist Callum Hann with a score of 80 out of 90 in a tense grand finale.

The win is especially meaningful for Laura, who returned to the competition as a new mother, hoping to inspire her daughter to chase her dreams.

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"I'm thrilled and completely overwhelmed with joy and pride to finally win the title of MasterChef Australia," Laura told Mamamia.

"It's a very surreal feeling."

Laura's win was all the sweeter as she was sharing the podium with her former rival and pal, Callum.

"Callum and I are good friends and we're both South Australians. We've known each other for a long time," she said.

"This is the second time that Callum and I have competed together… to go the full distance with him this time and to have him as a support system along the way was really lovely."

Laura's path to victory wasn't always easy. In one challenge, her choux pastry failed to rise, but she rallied, drawing on years of experience to plate a near-perfect dish.

Image: Ten.

But away from the MasterChef kitchen, Laura had to endure some disgraceful commentary.

Laura was embraced by viewers in her first season of MasterChef as a wide-eyed 19-year-old who became the youngest contestant to make the top three.

But the mood significantly shifted during the 2020 all-stars season where the audience made it known that they didn't always enjoy Laura's culinary style and err… general 'vibe' on the show.

The main takeaway was that she cooks too much pasta which umm… is a weird thing to criticise on a cooking show.

At the time, Laura told Mamamia the reason she believes that viewers turned on her. "I've come back with more maturity and a stronger voice and sometimes people don't like confidence, especially if it's in women," she said.

Then this year, the accusations escalated: they criticised her confidence, her hygiene in the kitchen, her emotions, and even accused her of being given preferential treatment by the judges.

So much so that her win this week came with a slew of negative comments.

"Hopefully, this means if they do another Back to Win we won't have to see Laura again! No offence to her," one user posted.

In another especially unhinged comment, a user posted: "Narcissism won. Playing victim, reminding the judges that she had given them too much of her time and that she had a family was worth it. At the expense of the best cook of the whole season. At the expense of who really deserved it."

This is just a small taste of some of the disgusting vitriol on social media being levelled at this woman for *checks notes* being confident, sometimes crying, winning a lot and making delicious pasta.

It's a stark reminder that even in 2025, women are still crucified online for the pettiest things while men on the show often slide through with very little outrage.

The online criticism got so bad this season that judge and former contestant, Poh Ling Yeow, addressed the backlash. She told Refinery29 Australia that she was "baffled" by the vitriol Laura had received.

"I think people really struggle with watching highly confident females state what they want unapologetically. And Laura has always been that, right from the beginning," she said.

Meanwhile, Laura is focused on the overwhelming support she's been met with, as she's finally achieved her longtime dream of MasterChef victory.

"The positive support I've received has far outweighed the negative," she told us.

"I'm focusing on celebrating the title I've dreamt of since I was 13." As she should!

Laura told Yahoo Lifestyle that after her win, her friend and winner of the 2020 season, Emelia Jackson, sent her a sweet message that read "Finally! Welcome to the club." Amen.

Image: Ten.

Laura is staying positive, listing the season's trip to the capital city of Qatar as her favourite moment.

"I loved our international trip to Doha this season. I'd never been on an overseas trip with the show, so getting to travel and cook outside of the MasterChef kitchen was really cool," she said.

"I feel like I really got to tick off of the quintessential MasterChef experiences this season, so that was really fun. Plus, being able to do it all with such an amazing bunch of people."

Feature image: Ten.