Fake cancer, Dr Phil and a fabricated childhood. This is Belle Gibson's story.

A teaser has been released for an upcoming Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar, and it's a story the Australian public knows all too well.

It's the disturbing tale of how Belle Gibson managed to deceive the world into believing she cured herself of terminal cancer in an attempt to get people to follow her lifestyle, cookbook, app and growing social media presence.

Gibson's case has been adapted into a six-episode limited series titled Apple Cider Vinegar, written by Australian writer Samantha Strauss and starring Booksmart's Kaitlyn Dever, along with Australian actors Alycia Debnam-Carey and Aisha Dee. The series is set to drop in February 2025 and will broadcast Gibson's years of deception to a global audience.

Watch the trailer for Apple Cider Vinegar. Post continues after video.

What is Apple Cider Vinegar about?

Netflix's Apple Cider Vinegar is described as a "true-ish story, based on a lie". The series is set at the birth of Instagram, following two young women who set out to cure their life-threatening illnesses through health and wellness — all while influencing their global online communities. Which would be very inspiring… if it were true.

The show was titled Apple Cider Vinegar because Samantha Strauss wanted "something that would capture this idea of hope in a bottle… that could be a bigger umbrealla than something that would relate only to Belle."

It's a fictionalised take on the infamous story of Belle Gibson, one of Australia's most notorious scamming cases. But what exactly happened and what did The Whole Pantry creator do? Let's recap it all.

Apple Cider Vinegar: The true story of Belle Gibson.

Annabelle Natalie Gibson was born on October 8, 1991, in Launceston in Tasmania.

Along with her mother and brothers, her family grew up largely in Brisbane but moved frequently during Gibson's childhood, living in various locations including Townsville, Maroochydore, and Wynnum.

Gibson claimed that her mother, Natalie Dal-Bello (formerly Gibson), had multiple sclerosis and that she became her mother's primary carer at the age of five, which her mother firmly denies. Gibson also claimed that her older brother, Nick Gibson, was autistic, which he strongly denies.

Gibson first gained public attention in 2009 when she claimed she had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer at age 20. She said that after experiencing symptoms including memory loss and vision problems, doctors had given her just four months to live. Gibson claimed she had tried conventional treatments but ultimately abandoned them in favour of alternative therapies.

Belle Gibson's rise to influencer.

Gibson's influence grew rapidly as she documented her supposed cancer journey on social media. She amassed approximately 300,000 followers on Instagram by promoting the idea that she had cured herself through nutrition and alternative medicine. Her message resonated deeply with followers who were drawn to her apparent story of survival against the odds.

Her most significant success came with the launch of The Whole Pantry app, which achieved a remarkable impact with 200,000 downloads in its first month. The app was so successful that Apple named it the Best Food and Drink App of 2013 and planned to pre-install it on the Apple Watch.

Gibson expanded her empire with a cookbook published by Penguin Books, and by early 2015, her ventures had reportedly generated over $1 million in revenue.

Image: Amazon.

Belle Gibson's scammer story starts to unravel.

Gibson's carefully constructed facade began to crumble in March 2015 when journalists started investigating her charitable donation claims. She had promised to donate substantial portions of her profits to various charities, including up to 95 per cent of her app proceeds.

Gibson's lies were ultimately uncovered thanks to tandem investigations by two of Australia's biggest newspapers.

The Australian reported that Gibson had never had cancer ,while Fairfax reported that the food influencer had failed to deliver thousands of dollars worth of promised charity donations.

In response to mounting pressure, she gave an interview to Australian Women's Weekly where she confirmed her lies.

"None of it's true," Gibson said.

"I don't want forgiveness. I just think [speaking out] was the responsible thing to do. Above anything, I would like people to say, 'OK, she's human.'"

Gibson claimed to have seen a neurologist and immunologist named Dr Mark Johns who diagnosed her with stage 4 Glioblastoma brain cancer in Perth in 2009. However, it was later discovered that this man never existed.

She did see a mysterious alternative health practitioner in mid-2014, who she referred to as 'Dr Phil', but he never claimed to be a doctor.

In a now-infamous 60 Minutes interview, Gibson offered nonsensical explanations to host Tara Brown about why she had told the world that she had cancer.

"Once I received the definite, 'No, you do not have cancer,' that was something I had to come to terms with and it was really traumatising and I was feeling a huge amount of grief," she said.

"What, that you didn't have cancer?" Brown pressed.

"No, that I had been lied to, that I felt like I had been taken for a ride," Gibson replied. "I lived for years with the fear that I was dying and I'm still coming to terms with [the fact] I can take that off my shoulders now."

Belle Gibson speaks to Tara Brown on 60 Minutes. Image: Nine.

When told that some people believe she should be in jail, Gibson said, "I'm on the receiving end of all that, Tara".

"I was not an expert in anyone else's health," she added.

In the most baffling part, Gibson seemingly couldn't say what age she was, as Brown pointed out that despite claiming she was 26 at the time, she was actually 23.

"I've always been raised as being currently a 26-year-old," Gibson replied.

Befuddled, Brown asked again. "This is a really, really simple question," she said. "How old are you?"

"That's probably a question we'll have to keep digging for

Gibson's mother has been estranged from her daughter for years. "I can't tell you how embarrassed we are about what she has done. And we sincerely wish to apologise to anyone who was deceived by Belle. For what small part we played in her life, we would like to say sorry," Natalie Dal-Bello told Australian Women's Weekly in 2015.

"She's got to look inside her own soul. The only way she is going to get forgiveness is to stop playing the victim card and spend the next few years doing nothing but charity work for cancer victims."

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took legal action against Gibson, resulting in a $410,000 fine for violating consumer law. The fine later increased to over $500,000, but reports suggest she has yet to pay it.

Despite her substantial debt, Gibson has been spotted living a luxurious lifestyle, including taking international trips to Bali. In recent years, she's changed her name to Sabontu and works with Ethiopian communities in Melbourne.

Apple Cider Vinegar premieres on Netflix on February 6, 2025.

Feature image: Nine/Netflix.