When Belle Gibson was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2009, she decided to shun conventional medical treatment.
Instead of undergoing surgery and chemotherapy, the young Australian woman claimed she cured her cancer through a healthy diet and lifestyle.
Wanting to share her journey with the world, Belle launched a blog and Instagram account @healing_belle before starting an app called the Whole Pantry aged 21 in 2013.
She quickly built a loyal following, with the app reportedly downloaded 200,000 times within the first month it was released – but her whole story turned out to be a complete lie.
Before the truth was uncovered, Belle’s app was voted Apple’s Best Food and Drink App that year and she also signed a book deal, releasing a cookbook of the same name.
By 2015 it was estimated The Whole Pantry app and cookbook had generated sales of $1 million (£500,000).
In her book, Belle wrote of her approach to treating her cancer: ‘I was empowering myself to save my own life through nutrition, patience, determination, and love.’
Although it seemed like her story was a miracle, none of it was actually true.
Nearly a decade after the tale of deception unravelled, Belle’s web of lies is the basis of the new Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar, in which she is played by Kaitlyn Dever.
Created by Samantha Strauss, who was a writer on Nine Perfect Strangers, the six-part series was inspired by the 2017 book The Woman Who Fooled the World by journalists Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano.
The show ‘serves as a cultural interrogation of the times, exploring the birth of Instagram, the allure and rise of wellness culture, peak “girl boss” start-up culture, and the age of innocence on social media when very few checks and balances were in place’.
As her public profile skyrocketed, Belle announced in July 2014 that her cancer had spread to her ‘blood, spleen, brain, uterus and liver’.
But less than a year later, amid claims that she hadn’t donated a cent to charities despite pledging her profits would go to a range of causes, the story broke that she was a complete fraud.
Somewhat confoundingly Belle then decided to put herself up to be interviewed, including on the TV programme 60 Minutes where she said the fallout ‘wasn’t easy for me’. She accepted $75,000 for that interview.
Speaking to the Australian Women’s Weekly she confessed her lies, confirming: ‘None of it is true.’
Her own family spoke out against Belle, with her mother Natalie Dal-Ballo telling The Weekly that she ‘plucked bits and pieces of other people’s medical problems and assumed them as her own’.
‘She’s just a girl who always had ideas above her station. Her tastes just became more and more expensive,’ she added.
Meanwhile, her brother Nick said she ‘craved attention’
Belle became a pariah, particularly in her home country, where the public was outraged at what she’d done.
Her app was taken down from Apple while her book was pulled from shelves.
Although it’s not clear if any cancer patients died when following Belle’s advice, several have spoken over the years about pausing treatment when discovering her online and following her guidance.
In 2017, she was charged with breaking Australian consumer law.
Although her publisher, Penguin Australia, agreed to pay $30,000 (£15,000) for not fact-checking the cookbook before its released, Belle’s claims were found to be ‘misleading and deceptive’.
In the Federal Court, she was fined $410,000 (£205,000) for her actions.
The judge was scathing, saying the following of Belle: ‘Once again, it appears she has put her own interests before those of anyone else. If there is one theme or pattern which emerges through her conduct, it is her relentless obsession with herself and what best serves her interests.’
However, two years later she was hauled back to court again after failing to pay any of it, going on to claim she was broke despite turning up in several designer items.
The last time she was seen in public was in 2020 when she spoke in a video claiming she was an adopted member of Melbourne’s Oromo community, from Ethiopia, and wanted to be called Sabontu.
After it emerged who she actually was, the head of Melbourne’s Ethiopian community said she was ‘exploiting the good hearts of people’.
In 2021 the Office of Consumer Affairs filed an affidavit in the Federal Court marking Belle’s file as ‘abandoned’ after she had still failed to pay a single cent for her fine. The case is now closed.
When the Netflix series based on Belle’s lies was announced last year, many slammed the production.
Reactions ranged from people saying they were uncomfortable with the series appearing to ‘glamorise’ her and they didn’t want to ‘give her any more attention’.
However, when the trailer was released last month, many changed their tune and said they were intrigued about how the story would be told.
Some said it looked like a ‘wild ride’ and had and ‘intriguing premise’.
Apple Cider Vinegar also stars Alycia Debnam-Carey (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart), Aisha Dee (The Bold Type) and Tilda Cobham-Hervey (I Am Woman).
Apple Cider Vinegar is streaming from tomorrow on Netflix.
This new Netflix drama has the most mind-blowing true story I’ve ever heard
