How Much of 'Apple Cider Vinegar' Is True, and Where Is Belle Gibson Now?

At the end of Apple Cider Vinegar, the based-on-a-true-story grifter series that began airing on Netflix last week, the show teases an epilogue about what happened to its central character, Belle Gibson. But before viewers get an answer, Gibson, as played brilliantly by Kaitlyn Dever, interrupts: “You know what? Just Google it.”

And you could Google what happened to Belle Gibson. Or how much of Apple Cider Vinegar is true. Or you could just read this piece. Actually, my best recommendation would be to listen to the full episode of Maintenance Phase on Belle Gibson, which is where much of this information comes from.

Who Is Belle Gibson?

For those unfamiliar, here’s the short version: In the early to mid-2010s, Belle Gibson was an Australian wellness influencer who launched an app called Whole Pantry, which contained about 50 generic health-food recipes. The app was downloaded over 300,000 times within months of its launch (at $4 per download), and its popularity led to a book deal. It was so successful that Apple even planned to make it a default app on its smartphones.

The catch? Gibson wasn’t just selling recipes—she was selling a miracle cure. She claimed that a clean diet had healed her terminal brain cancer.

Gibson’s journey to wellness stardom began with a dramatic story: she was diagnosed with brain cancer and given six weeks to four months to live. In later interviews, she expanded on her alleged health struggles, claiming to have suffered from blood, spleen, uterine, liver, and kidney cancers, illnesses she said were caused by the cervical cancer vaccine. Rejecting chemotherapy and radiation, she instead touted a natural, holistic approach to healing, crediting diet and alternative medicine for her miraculous recovery.

Inspired by Gibson, thousands of people downloaded her app and bought her wellness products. Some even opted against conventional medicine in favor of alternative treatments like the Gerson Therapy, a controversial and widely discredited regimen that involves a vegan diet, heavy supplementation, and frequent coffee enemas.

The Scam Unravels

Belle Gibson became a wellness celebrity in Australia, regularly featured in health and beauty magazines. But her empire came crashing down over, at first, the most Al Capone of reasons: charity fraud.

Gibson claimed she was donating large portions of her profits to charity. Journalists finally investigated and discovered she hadn’t donated a cent. Most of the charities she claimed to support had never even heard of her. Once this fraud was exposed, the media finally did their job, digging deeper into Gibson’s claims and quickly unraveling her entire story. She had fabricated her cancer diagnoses along with other lies about her family, relationships, and medical history. Her entire public persona was a fraud.

The backlash was swift. Her publisher, Penguin Books, pulled her book from shelves but was still fined for failing to fact-check her claims. Her app was removed from stores, and Apple abandoned plans to include it on their devices. Legal action followed, and Gibson faced consumer law violations for misleading the public.

What’s True in Apple Cider Vinegar?

Remarkably, almost everything about Belle Gibson in the Netflix series is accurate, though some details and timelines were shifted. She did lie about cancer. She was involved with Clive Rothwell, though the show arguably portrays him as more sympathetic than he deserves. There’s no real evidence that she suffered a miscarriage, though she did claim to.

Her estrangement from her mother is also true. Her mother, who had a mild form of multiple sclerosis, was unaware of Belle’s influencer career until after the scandal broke. Once Gibson was exposed, her mother jumped on the media bandwagon, giving lengthy interviews filled with contradictory stories and her own dubious health claims. Like mother, like daughter.

As for the other key characters:

— Alycia Debnam-Carey’s Milla Blake is based on Jessica Ainscough, an Australian wellness blogger who, instead of having her arm amputated, attempted to treat her cancer with Gerson Therapy. She later died. So did her mother, who used the same therapy to treat her breast cancer. Ainscough never truly admitted that her treatments had failed, though she did return to conventional medicine in the final weeks of her life. She and Gibson weren’t close, though Gibson attended her funeral.

— Aisha Dee’s Chanelle is based on one of Gibson’s former best friends. Chanelle repeatedly urged her to come clean before her book was published. She seems to be one of the only people in Gibson’s life who genuinely tried to stop her.

— Yes, Gibson did promise to help fund a young boy’s cancer treatment. And yes, the child tragically passed away. His family was then harassed by people who associated them with Gibson and falsely accused them of fabricating his illness.

The Media’s Role in the Fraud

The Maintenance Phase episode actually goes further than the Netflix series in assigning blame to journalists who failed to question Gibson’s diagnosis. Both Elle and Vogue allegedly received letters from someone close to Gibson warning that she was lying. Instead of investigating, the magazines ran their glowing profiles anyway—and even gave her a prestigious award for her “work” in the wellness industry.

Meanwhile, 60 Minutes Australia paid Gibson $75,000 for an exclusive interview after she was exposed. But they didn’t fact-check her claims or invite experts to refute her lies. They simply let her attempt to talk her way out of it. Likewise, her publisher and even Apple did little to verify her claims before endorsing her work.

The media’s complicity in her rise—and their eagerness to profit from her downfall—reflects a broader issue with wellness culture. The industry thrives on compelling personal narratives, especially those that promise easy, natural cures. Many outlets were more interested in selling an inspiring, feel-good story than in scrutinizing whether it was true.

Where Is She Now?

Gibson was ultimately fined nearly $500,000 for misleading consumers. She has not paid the fine.

In an astonishing post-scandal pivot, she later attempted to rebrand herself as a member of the Oromo people, an ethnic group from Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya. She claimed to be living among the community and advocating for their rights—another grift in a new disguise.

Recent reports suggest she has remained largely out of the public eye, though occasional sightings and unverified social media activity indicate she continues to find ways to sustain herself, likely through new cons. Unlike other disgraced influencers who attempt a redemption arc, Gibson appears to have doubled down, avoiding accountability while seeking new opportunities to exploit causes and communities.

Her story is a cautionary tale—not just about one grifter, but about the unchecked power of wellness influencers, the dangers of medical misinformation, and the media’s willingness to elevate frauds in pursuit of a good headline. She was last seen in this Current Affairs report, where a journalist confronted her at a gas station, repeatedly asking why she had not paid her fines.

Background: Maintenance Phase, YouTube. I also recommend reading Lindsay’s fantastic piece on The Female Rage of Apple Cider Vinegar.