The True Story Of ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’

Netflix’s new drama “Apple Cider Vinegar” is fictional, but it’s based closely on a 2015 book, “The Woman Who Fooled the World,” by investigative journalists Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano. 

Some characters on the show, including disgraced wellness influencer Belle Gibson (played by Kaitlyn Dever), are inspired directly by real people, with their names left unchanged. Other key characters are fictional amalgamations of people in Gibson’s orbit, like Milla Blake (Alycia Debnam-Carey).

For years, the real Gibson said she had cured herself of terminal brain cancer using a natural diet and other alternative healing methods. She built a platform as an Instagram influencer and a wellness entrepreneur with a successful app, Whole Pantry, and accompanying cookbook.

In reality, though, Gibson never had cancer at all. 

When she admitted to the truth in a 2015 interview with Australia’s The Weekly, her downfall was swift. In addition to lying about her diagnosis, Gibson had claimed a “large part” of her company Whole Pantry’s earnings would go to charities or good causes, which was not the case, per a court action from the Federal Court of Australia in 2017.  

Gibson’s fraud raised concerns about the power of wellness influencers to sway real people’s life-and-death health decisions.

Keep reading to learn more about how much of “Apple Cider Vinegar” is based on true people and events.

What has the creator of ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ said about the true story?

For Samantha Strauss, the show’s writer and creator, it’s important for viewers to know that “Apple Cider Vinegar” is a “true-ish” representation of Gibson’s fraud, and that the intent of the show was never to give the real Gibson a platform.

Strauss says she’s never met Gibson, and says she used “The Woman Who Fooled the World” as a “template” for her story.

“It really became a jumping off point for us,” she tells TODAY.com. “I don’t know what Belle talked about in real life, I can only speculate what motivated her. And so this is our fictional account.”

She also explains why the show ends shortly after Gibson’s scam is revealed, rather than exploring where the real Gibson is now.

“I liked the idea of ending Belle in, I would say, a fragile place of hope,” Strauss says. “Maybe she’s learned not to do this again, you know, maybe she won’t repeat the cycles of her own past.” 

Strauss adds that as far as she knows, Gibson has never paid a fine or gone to jail for her actions.

“In lots of ways, social media was her punishment,” she says.

In September 2017, the Federal Court of Australia ordered Gibson to pay $410,000 in relation to her “unconscionable conduct.”

As of early 2020, Gibson had still not paid the fine, according to the Australian Associated Press, via The Guardian. Gibson’s home was raided in 2021.

In late 2023, Donelly and Toscano received another update from Consumer Affairs Victoria, which they shared in their book.

A spokesperson told them the agency was “continuing to pursue” Gibson and said the “entire amount” of her debt is “still outstanding.”

“The Woman Who Fooled the World” authors Donelly and Toscano received another update from Consumer Affairs Victoria, which they shared in their book.

The agency was “continuing to pursue” Gibson and she still owed the entire amount of her debt.

Which ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ characters are based on real people?

Several characters in “Apple Cider Vinegar” are directly based on real people, with their names left unchanged. 

Belle Gibson

The character of Belle Gibson is based on the real-life Australian influencer who faked cancer for years as she built her wellness empire. Gibson admitted to lying about her diagnosis in an interview with Australia’s The Weekly in 2015.

Clive Rothwell

Belle’s boyfriend in the show, Clive Rothwell, played by Ashley Zuckerman, is also based on a real person.

According to “The Woman Who Fooled the World,” the real Rothwell is an IT consultant from Adelaide, Australia, which closely mirrors his character on the show.

Gibson described Rothwell as her housemate and friend in a 2019 court hearing, per The Guardian.

In the miniseries, Rothwell is seen beginning to question Gibson’s illness. However, he backs off because he wants to stay involved in the life of Gibson’s young son. 

This was creative speculation on the show’s part; the real Rothwell has never spoken publicly about whether he was aware of Gibson’s cancer deception, and about the nature of any private conversations they may have had about her health.

Gibson’s young son

The real Gibson has a son, according to “The Woman Who Fooled the World.” 

Gibson’s mom

Gibson’s real-life mother, Natalie Dal-Bello, and her husband, Andrew Dal-Bello, are also portrayed using their real names in “Apple Cider Vinegar.”

Some lines from Natalie Dal-Bello, played by Essie Davis, are inspired by real quotes from Dal-Bello, either from interviews Dal-Bello gave to Donelly and Toscano for “The Woman Who Fooled the World,” or from her 2015 interview with The Weekly.

“I can’t begin to tell you how embarrassed we are by what that girl has done. And for all the poor people who she has deceived, for the small part that we have played in her life, I am deeply and profoundly sorry,” the Natalie character says in the show, which closely echoes a statement the real Dal-Bello made to The Weekly.

Julie Gibbs

The character of publisher Julie Gibbs, played by Catherine McClements, is also directly inspired by the real-life Julie Gibbs, the former director of Lantern, an imprint of the Penguin publishing house focused on cookbooks.

The real Gibbs worked with Gibson on her Whole Pantry cookbook. She left Penguin in 2015 following the unraveling of Gibson’s cancer story, according to Donelly and Toscano. She declined to be interviewed for “The Woman Who Fooled the World

Which ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ characters are fictional?

Some characters in “Apple Cider Vinegar” are fictional, though they appear to be at least partly inspired by people who encountered Belle Gibson.

Milla Blake

The character of Milla Blake, a wellness influencer who claims she cured herself of cancer using natural methods, is an “amalgamation of wellness influences at the time,” Alycia Debnam-Carey, who played Milla in the series, told TODAY.com. 

Debnam-Carey says “parallels can be made” between Milla’s character and Jess Ainscough, an Australian influencer known to her supporters as “The Wellness Warrior.” 

Similar to what is shown in Milla’s storyline, Ainscough found lumps on her arm in her early 20s and was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Doctors advised her to amputate her left arm at her shoulder, but she declined this surgery and tried chemotherapy instead. This worked temporarily, according to “The Woman Who Fooled the World.” 

When the cancer recurred a year later, Ainscough decided not to amputate, and instead searched for alternative healing methods. She ended up devoting herself to Gerson therapy, a controversial regimen developed in the 1920s that claims to “detoxify” the body through methods including a clean diet, juicing and frequent coffee enemas.

According to multiple studies from The National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society, Gerson therapy has “demonstrated no benefit” and “cannot be recommended” to people with cancer, and in some cases may have adverse effects. 

Ainscough gained a large following as she posted about her wellness journey on social media, and in 2013 she released a bestselling book, “Make Peace With Your Plate.”

Seven years after she was first diagnosed with cancer, Ainscough died at 29 in 2015. 

Milla’s story in “Apple Cider Vinegar” has close parallels with Ainscough’s life, and the controversial Hirsch Institute Milla attends in Mexico seems to be a fictionalized version of the Gerson Institute.

However, their stories diverge in places. In the show, Milla is shown as turning away from conventional medical treatments from the beginning. Ainscough’s family, however, has said she was willing to try chemotherapy at first. 

“It has … been said that Jess shunned conventional treatment and doctors, this … is incorrect,” her family said in a tribute to Ainscough shared by Australia’s The Sunshine Coast Daily. 

Still, while there are several similarities between Ainscough and Milla, Debnam-Carey says Milla’s character was invented as someone who could go “toe-to-toe with Belle.”

“That parallel dynamic of the two of them was such an interesting story,” she said. “Belle is someone who’s lying to the world, but Milla is sort of lying to herself, but also convinced that she’s done this to herself, that she’s caused the cancer that’s in her.”

Lucy

The character of Lucy (Tilda Cobham-Hervey), a woman with breast cancer who is inspired by Belle’s social media posts, is also fictional.

The show’s creator, Samantha Strauss, describes Lucy as “the heart of the show,” and says Lucy represents the many people who were influenced by Gibson’s messaging.

“Lucy’s us,” Strauss tells TODAY.com. “Lucy is the people who could suffer because of people like Belle.”

While Lucy is fictional, her story shares similarities with Kate Thomas, who is featured extensively in “The Woman Who Fooled the World.”

Like Lucy, Thomas was diagnosed with breast cancer in her 30s. As she underwent chemotherapy, she came across Gibson on social media and was drawn to her discussion of alternative treatment methods.

“To see that she had gone through this, but had done it the natural way, was inspiring,” Thomas told Donelly and Toscano for their book. “She gave hope to people like me that maybe we didn’t have to put ourselves through such intense treatment. Maybe we could survive.”

Thomas’ partner, Nik Donaldson, was skeptical of Gibson’s claims, according to the book, which mirrors the dynamic between Lucy and Justin on the show.

After learning about Gibson’s scam, Thomas said she felt betrayed and furious on behalf of people who had abandoned proven medical treatments based on Gibson’s advice.

“I just don’t know how she can live with herself,” Thomas told Donelly and Toscano. “People would be saying, ‘You’re such an inspiration, I’ve decided not to do chemo’ … Belle would have been reading those comments and knowing that people were stopping treatment. That is not OK.”

Ultimately, Thomas decided to continue with conventional treatment. In May 2024, an interview with Thomas in Australia’s Geelong Advertiser stated that Thomas was at that time “clear of cancer.”

Chanelle

The character of Chanelle, played by Aisha Dee, is fictional.

Dee describes Chanelle as “a voice of reason” who “represents the audience in a way.”

“She’s kind of seeing things in the same way that I think you see it when you’re watching it on your TV at home,” she tells TODAY.com.

Gibson did have a friend named Chanelle in real life who was interviewed for “The Woman Who Fooled the World,” but their stories have some differences. 

The Chanelle character in the show works with both Milla Blake and Gibson. There is no evidence that the real Chanelle did the same. 

According to “The Woman Who Fooled the World,” the real Chanelle did challenge Gibson about her cancer claims, and recalled a time Gibson faked a seizure at her son’s birthday party, as shown in the series.