She captured a place in the Australian Idol Top 6 and won fans over with her powerful vocals.
However, just months after her time on the Channel Seven hit came to an end, singer Jacinta Guirguis—known professionally as CYNTA—shared an emotional Instagram video this week showing how dramatically her life had changed since appearing on one of Australia’s biggest television programs.
‘Nothing prepares you for this,’ she wrote in the caption, adding the hashtags Australian Idol, lows and highs, reality hit and live music.
The video opened with Jacinta attending Australian Idol events and meeting fans, before shifting to footage of her sitting at a desk in a casual pale blue jumper.
Words appearing across the clip read: ‘No one prepares you for how hard it is going from this…’
The post resonated with fellow reality TV personalities and musicians, who filled the comments with supportive messages and shared their own experiences of adjusting to everyday life after appearing on television.
Just months after leaving the Channel Seven juggernaut, singer Jacinta Guirguis—better known by her stage name CYNTA—shared an emotional Instagram video documenting the dramatic change from appearing on one of Australia’s biggest television shows.
The clip opened with Jacinta attending Australian Idol events and posing with fans, before cutting to the singer sitting at a desk in a casual pale blue jumper.
Former Australian Idol star Tom Williams joined the conversation, saying contestants’ lack of support after leaving the program had been a concern for years.
‘When I was on the show I remember John Foreman, the music director for the first seasons, saying he left the show because of the lack of support to the cast when they are kicked off,’ Tom wrote.
‘It’s scary and a very vulnerable spot to be in. Keep your head up x.’
Karise Eden, who won The Voice Australia, also offered Jacinta encouragement and stressed that a televised singing competition marks only the start of an artist’s journey.
‘Like someone said to me… “This is just a circus, your real career starts when all this is over,”‘ she wrote.
Mack Moses, a former contestant on The Voice, encouraged Jacinta to make the most of the attention generated by Australian Idol. He said his own short television appearance had helped him establish a career.
‘Use it. I had only 2 performances on The Voice and was knocked out,’ he wrote.
‘I tried to make each performance as memorable as possible and use that 15 mins of fame to my advantage.’
‘Nothing prepares you for this,’ Jacinta captioned the post, alongside the hashtags Australian Idol, lows and highs, reality hit and live music.
Mack added that he had since developed connections at Channel Nine and now earns a living through paid gigs.
‘I actually think it’s got nothing to do with how far you go just how you use that 15 minutes,’ he added.
Another former reality TV contestant, Cam Whitcomb, recalled going back to his regular job after appearing on American Idol.
‘I remember going back to work after American Idol. Was sure I failed. Keep pushing. You got this,’ he wrote.
Another follower revealed they had discovered CYNTA years before her Idol appearance and encouraged her to keep going.
‘Found you on TikTok like two years ago when you were singing for no one in a mall. KEEP. IT. UP,’ they wrote.
The latest admission comes months after Jacinta revealed the brutal financial and emotional toll of chasing her music dream.
The singer soared into Australia’s Top 6 on Australian Idol earlier this year and won over fans with her powerhouse vocals.
The latest admission comes months after Jacinta revealed the brutal financial and emotional toll of chasing her music dream
But just weeks after leaving the Channel Seven juggernaut, Jacinta revealed she returned home from the competition ‘broke’, unemployed and without stable housing after giving up her job and rental to compete.
‘I just wanted to give you guys a real-life update,’ she told followers at the time.
‘I came back from Idol two and a half weeks ago and these last two and a half weeks have been the most confusing, challenging, emotional, exciting time.
‘Spending two months in a bubble in Sydney living out my dreams was incredible. But coming back to reality is obviously a hit.’
Jacinta said despite the national exposure, she emerged from the competition without a management team, booking agent or record label.
‘I entered the show and have now left the show completely independent. No manager, no booking agent, no label, no nothing,’ she revealed.
‘So still just me, which is both a good thing and a bad thing.’
She also explained the enormous personal gamble she had taken to appear on Idol.
‘Before I went on Idol, I gave up my job and my rental,’ she said.
‘And I’ve come back to obviously no job and no rental.’
At the time, Jacinta was staying with her sister and applying for jobs while simultaneously trying to organise live shows and launch her debut single.
‘I’m unemployed and I need work,’ she admitted.
She said the period had left her struggling with insomnia, confusion and emotional exhaustion.
‘I never see people talk about what happens after these shows,’ she said.
‘I think people assume it’s all sunshine and rainbows and it’s all uphill from here, but that’s not necessarily the case.’
Despite the difficult comedown, Jacinta has continued pursuing music and documenting the less glamorous side of trying to turn reality TV exposure into a long-term career.
‘It’s hard. But onwards and upwards,’ she said previously.
Kesha Oayda, 21, from Jindabyne, NSW, ultimately won the 2026 season of Australian Idol, becoming the show’s first female winner in almost two decades.