What does it feel like to grow up knowing you don’t quite fit the system around you?
In this powerful episode of You’re Gonna Want To Hear This, actors and advocates Georgie
Stone and Chloe Hayden sit down for an honest conversation about identity, difference and
the long journey to understanding yourself.

Both women know what it’s like to move through the world feeling “other.” For Stone, that
meant knowing she was a girl from a very young age, long before she had the language to
describe being transgender. For Hayden, it meant growing up autistic in a world that often
misunderstood - or outright misrepresented - neurodivergent people.
Together, they unpack what it means to finally find the words that explain your experience,
the labels that hurt and the ones that can help you understand yourself. They talk about
school, bullying, media representation, and how seeing characters who look like you - or
think like you - can change the trajectory of a young person’s life.
The conversation also explores the power and pressure of representation. Stone made history
as the first transgender actor to play a trans character in an Australian drama when she joined
Neighbours, while Hayden’s portrayal of Quinny in Heartbreak High has become a lifeline
for autistic viewers around the world.

Warm, funny and deeply thoughtful, this episode is about the courage it takes to be visible -
and the radical power of simply existing as yourself.

In this episode:

• Georgie Stone on knowing she was a girl from the age of two
• Chloe Hayden on growing up autistic and finally receiving a diagnosis
• Why labels can be empowering rather than limiting
• The impact of growing up without representation in media
• The characters that helped shape their identities (hello, Disney)
• Playing groundbreaking roles in Neighbours and Heartbreak High
• The pressure of representing entire communities
• Why simply existing proudly can be an act of protest
• The message they wish every young person could hear

Listen to the full episode of You’re Gonna Want To Hear This wherever you get your
podcasts.