Netflix’s new miniseries Apple Cider Vinegar is a “true-ish story based on a lie,” following Australian influencer Belle Gibson.
In the early 2010s, she deceived social media followers by faking brain cancer and falsely claiming she was cured by a special diet—one she just happened to be selling. Gibson went on to build a fitness and diet empire through her Instagram account, @healing_belle, and by launching an app and a book, both titled The Whole Pantry.
In 2013, Gibson posted to Instagram, “I have been healing a severe and malignant brain cancer for the past few years with natural medicine, Gerson therapy and foods.”
Belle Gibson fooled the world into believing she had terminal cancer, and profited off her lies to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Among the victims of her lies was her very own brother, who’s now speaking out to finally reveal the truth. #60Mins pic.twitter.com/1zhdoBF54a
— 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins) May 19, 2024
In 2015, however, journalists Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano exposed her lies, eventually publishing a nonfiction book about the scandal in 2017, The Woman Who Fooled the World: The True Story of Fake Wellness Guru Belle Gibson. They first uncovered Gibson’s financial lies about donating business profits to multiple charities. Shortly after, it was revealed that she had also lied about her age and completely fabricated her cancer diagnosis—well, her multiple cancer diagnoses, to be exact.
To find out more about where she is now and her personal life, keep scrolling.
It appears that Gibson, now 33, is still somewhere in Australia keeping a low profile. In 2017, Gibson was hit with more than $400,000 in fines, according to PEOPLE.
In 2024, media outlet A Current Affair spotted Gibson at a gas station, which appeared to be somewhere in Australia. The outlet reported that she still had not paid her $400,000 fine.
