The story of Belle Gibson and the rise and fall of her wellness empire has captured the attention of media across the world.
Now, Netflix has used it as inspiration for its latest series called Apple Cider Vinegar, which the streaming service describes as a “true-ish story based on a lie”.
Read more about the series below and what Belle Gibson is up to now.
Who is Belle Gibson?
Belle Gibson is a former wellness influencer who claimed she was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2009 and said she was told she only had four months to live. Along with this, she also alleged she had a stroke and was diagnosed with other cancers.
She then built an online following documenting her journey and claimed that she cured the cancer when she turned to natural remedies and a healthy lifestyle. As she rose to prominence and established a platform, Belle claimed she was donating her profits to various charities.
Off the back of her claims, she launched a popular cookbook and app on Apple called The Whole Pantry.
In 2015, questions were raised Belle confessed to The Weekly that she falsified her diagnosis.
“I am still jumping between what I think I know and what is reality,” she told The Weekly at the time. “I have lived it and I’m not really there yet.”
The app was pulled from the app store in Australia and the USA that year, after allegations about her diagnosis and that she was not making donations to the charities.
What is Apple Cider Vinegar about?
Netflix’s series Apple Cider Vinegar follows the empires of two young women who claim to have life-threatening illnesses and work through them through health and wellness.
Throughout the show, they document their journeys online along the way and gain a mass following. But not is all as it seems.
American actress Kaitlyn Dever takes on the role of Belle and told Netflix she had never played a woman like her.
The six-episode series was also inspired by the book The Woman Who Fooled the World, which was written by Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano, who extensively covered her story for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
Was Belle Gibson charged?
The former influencer was fined $410,000 in September 2017 by the Federal Court.
According to The Australian Associated Press via The Guardian, Gibson was yet to pay this as of early 2020. This then grew to more than $500,000 which included fines, penalties, additional fees, and interest.
Her home was raided twice in January 2020 and May 2021 to recoup the unpaid fine and she has been threatened with jail time.
Has Belle Gibson paid her fines?
According to the Daily Telegraph in February 2025, Gibson has not paid for most of her fines.
When a reporter from A Current Affair approached her at a petrol station in February 2024, she was asked why she had not paid.
To that, she said: “Have some humanity. I haven’t paid for things because I can’t afford to.”
What is Belle Gibson up to now?
Following the media storm, she no longer has social media and keeps her life private.
Despite this, she came under fire in 2020 when she claimed she was “adopted” by the Ethiopian community, and used another name.
