Everything you need to know about Belle Gibson, Apple Cider Vinegar on Netflix

Ahead of the show's release to Netflix tomorrow, the disgraced former 'wellness guru' has spoken.

Movies and TV shows detailing the lives and motivations of criminals have only become more popular in recent years.

We’ve seen stories told of serial killers like Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, con artists like Anna Delvey in Inventing Anna, and a stalker in Baby Reindeer.

Now, out of Australia, our very own Belle Gibson's story is being told in in Apple Cider Vinegar.

The show, described as being inspired by ‘a true story that was based on a lie’, will be premiering on Netflix tomorrow, and if you want to get back up to speed before giving it a watch, here’s everything you need to know.

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this.

Image: Netflix.

RELATED: Fans share their theories about new Bluey movie

Who is Belle Gibson?

If you don’t know who Belle Gibson is, and you’re wondering why everyone is talking about this show named after vinegar, first of all, are you living under a rock? And second of all, you’re in the right place.

Belle Gibson is best known for her social media presence, having started out on Instagram under @healing_belle back in May 2013, telling her story as someone who was healing her brain cancer through use of food.

Just 21 years old, she was inspired by Jessica Ainscough, a ‘close friend’ of hers who was also Australia’s biggest wellness guru at the time, sharing her own journey of overcoming a rare cancer called epithelioid sarcoma using organic food and juice cleanses.

Belle shot into stardom incredibly quickly, attracting millions of followers with her inspirational story, ultimately earning her a book deal with The Whole Pantry, and an accompanying app to be included in Apple’s new smartwatch at the time.

She also claimed to be a philanthropist, supposedly donating money regularly to charities like Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and One Girl, as well as a young boy named Joshua who had the same cancer she did.

Her efforts earned her Cosmopolitan’s Fun Fearless Female award in 2015.

Introducing our new podcast: Mum Club! Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode.

RELATED: Little-known fact about Matilda is blowing fans’ minds

But, after a few accusations that Belle’s claims may have been fraudulent, two journalists from The Age started looking into her, and what they found, no one could believe.

Not only had Belle never had cancer, and instead used stories from followers and others in online chat groups to fabricate her own incredibly believable lies, she also never donated a cent to charity until she was called out publicly.

After the truth came out, she did two interviews - one with 60 minutes which has since gained a life of its own (that pink jumper is ingrained in everyone’s minds), and another with The Australian Women's Weekly.

What happened to her?

Despite how heinous these crimes may sound, Belle has yet to actually pay a cent of the fines she’s accumulated, nor cop any jail time.

Scattered court appearances have seen her claim to be entirely broke and unable to pay, though two police raids of her Northcote home would say otherwise, with a multitude of items seized to try to recoup her unpaid fines - which due to fees and interest, now exceed $500 000.

Last anyone heard from Belle, she had completely reinvented herself, donning a brown scarf, claiming to be an adopted member of Melbourne’s Oromo community, from Ethiopia, and requesting that people refer to her as Sabontu - despite the head of this community asking that she be removed.

Since then, she’s flown under the radar... until now.

Netflix's Apple Cider Vinegar

In November last year, Netflix dropped the first trailer for Apple Cider Vinegar - a television series inspired by the book The Woman Who Fooled the World by Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano, the two journalists who first exposed her.

The show stars Kaitlyn Dever out of the US, as well as some Aussie stars in Aisha Dee, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, and Alycia Debnam-Carey, so you don’t have to worry about hearing too many botched accents.

Despite, of course, being based on a true event, the show’s creators have been sure to avoid the word biopic, with the series set to include a host of new characters who differ from the truth.

And, as a source told Yahoo Lifestyle, Belle wasn’t at all consulted about what you’re about to see, though is ‘very keen to see what they have done with the story’.

I have to say, I am too.

Apple Cider Vinegar arrives to Netflix tomorrow, on February 6, 2025, from 7pm AEST.

Originally published as Everything you need to know about Belle Gibson, Apple Cider Vinegar on Netflix