Moment Belle Gibson’s best friend realised she was lying about having cancer

The former best friend of Belle Gibson has spoken out about a single moment with the Melbourne cancer faker she can’t forget.

The former best friend of Belle Gibson has recalled the moment she realised the Melbourne cancer faker was conning millions of people – and making hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process.

Ms Gibson falsely claimed to have healed her inoperable brain tumour through diet and alternative treatments, profiting almost half a million dollars from a wellness app and cookbook.

In 2017, the Federal Court of Australia found the mum-of-one had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and fined her $410,000 for breaching consumer laws.

In February, A Current Affair revealed the 32-year-old was yet to pay her fine, citing financial difficulties and an inability to find employment following her public controversy.

Ahead of the premiere of a two-part documentary on Britain’s ITV, titled Instagram’s Worst Con Artist, Chantelle McAuliffe opened up about her friendship with Ms Gibson in an interview with The Sun.

Belle Gibson falsely claimed to have healed her inoperable brain tumour through diet and alternative treatments. Picture: Facebook/60 Minutes

The 36-year-old was introduced to Ms Gibson in October 2014 through mutual friends. They quickly formed a tight bond, with Ms McAuliffe inspired by Ms Gibson’s entrepreneurial spirit.

But within a few months, she started to become suspicious, saying that “things just weren’t adding up”.

The “red flags really started to pop up for me”, Ms McAuliffe said, when she watched Ms Gibson miraculously recover from what seemed to be a seizure – wiping the saliva from her mouth and insisting she was fine, after moments before rolling around on the floor.

“I felt really sick in my stomach for what I had just seen,” she said.

Days later, when Ms McAuliffe found out via an Instagram post that Ms Gibson’s cancer had allegedly spread, “I started to question everything, to go over it all in my mind”.

“She always looked so well, she never looked sick. I started to think about times where she had gone on tanning beds and another time when we went to a nightclub and she was ordering shots and drinks,” Ms McAuliffe recalled.

“I said to Belle, ‘This is not good’. But she said, ‘I’m going to die soon anyway. Why not have some fun?’

“Those weren’t things she was sharing with her online community. Things just didn’t add up for me.”

Chantelle McAuliffe realised Gibson was conning millions of people into believing she had cancer. Picture: Supplied

Ms McAuliffe confided in a close friend that she was starting to doubt whether Ms Gibson was telling the truth – and found he’d been having similar reservations.

The pair drove, unannounced, to Ms Gibson’s Melbourne home, where they confronted her.

“She looked bewildered and I asked her to go get some medical documents or scans – any type of medical evidence – that she would have in her house,” Ms McAuliffe said.

“She claimed she didn’t hold on to anything like that at home because it ‘had negative energy’, so I asked her which hospital she went to get diagnosed at and she said she hadn’t been, that a doctor came to her house.

“She was defensive. But the more she spoke, the more it became clear it was all a lie.

“She was profiting from a web of lies she was spinning by targeting vulnerable people and it just made my blood boil. She was misleading people on such a major level. They were choosing to eat fruit and verge over medical treatment.

“I asked her if she was ready to come forward and she got really aggressive and told me to ‘f**k off’.”

Ms Gibson leaves the Federal Court in Melbourne in June 2019. Picture: Aaron Francis/The Australian

Ms McAuliffe then made it her mission to unravel what Gibson was doing – contacting police, media and lawyers.

“With no proof, nobody would believe me. A lawyer accused me of defaming her. I couldn’t sleep,” she said.

“I knew someone was out there doing harm though, so I couldn’t stop.

“For six months to a year I was fighting to get her lies exposed. I spoke to lawyers and that cost me money. I spent hours co-working with journalists.

“I was just so hellbent on stopping her.”

Ms McAuliffe said she still felt sorry for those who had believed Ms Gibson.

“I feel for Belle’s victims, the cancer survivors who have never seen any justice … and the charities that were ripped off. She will always be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

– with The Sun

Originally published as Moment Belle Gibson’s best friend realised she was lying about having cancer