Belle Gibson claimed to have beaten brain cancer using natural remedies and nutrition while promoting a successful blog, app and cookbook
THE “wellness guru” who faked having brain cancer and conned thousands of fans has come under fire again.
It is claimed Australian Belle Gibson still hasn’t paid the £240,000 fine she was given in 2017 for exploiting fans, but was recently caught at Melbourne airport after a £8,000 five-week safari..
For years, Belle lied about having cancer, and it took an app launch, book deals, thousands of followers online and years before her web of lies were exposed.
She was given the whopping fine after receiving thousands of pounds from well-meaning fans supporting her “cancer-healing” empire and her Whole Pantry app, following her “diagnosis”.
The former blogger has tried to keep a low profile since the shocking truth about her health was exposed, but now faces jail time if she doesn’t pay the fine.
A reporter from TV show A Current Affair intercepted Belle at the airport after she returned from her expensive holiday, and a segment was aired with the footage on Wednesday night.
Belle was filmed returning from her holiday with her boyfriend and being asked by a reporter why she has so far dodged the fine – to which she doesn’t reply.
Belle’s "survival" story began in 2009, after she claimed she was diagnosed with terminal cancer at the age of 20 and was told she had just four months to live.
She claimed to battle through gruelling chemotherapy and radiotherapy for two months, before giving it up to explore alternative medicine as a cure.
Four years down the line, she alleged that nutrition and holistic medicine, coupled with vitamins and oxygen therapy was healing her naturally.
Belle launched her Whole Pantry app, which positioned itself as “the world’s first health and wellness lifestyle app” and was a monumental success.
It was downloaded 200,000 times in the first month and quickly ranked No 1 in the App Store in its first month.
In rolled international book deals, media interviews, tech leaders Apple knocking at her door and thousands of fans rushing to follow her Instagram account @healing_belle.
Penguin offered her a cookbook deal with an advance of £70,000 (AU$132,500), and soon came an offer from UK Penguin as well.
The success saw her move to a $1m (£582,200) beachside house, buy a new BMW X3 and get her teeth cosmetically straightened.
While her life took a glossy turn, her cancer journey continued and Belle kept fans updated with latest information she had been told from doctors.
Fans poured out their support, but among the adoring messages, small seeds of doubts started to circulate.
Why didn’t her polished lifestyle reflect her aggressive diagnosis? How did she manage to outlive her doctor’s timeframe for her illness?
It seemed her wellness empire was untouchable – until everything came tumbling down for the blogger in 2015.
Belle had previously claimed 95 per cent of her app proceeds went to charity and alleged she was working with 20 organisations.
Belle was contacted by journalists Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano who asked for a definitive list of the amounts given to the charities, and specific information about her health.
When they spoke to the charities themselves, it turned out they hadn’t received a penny from her.
Media around the world were quick to spring into action and Belle mysteriously deleted thousands of posts from social media.
Penguin used a crisis management team in March 2015 to navigate the release of their admission that they had never asked her for proof of her medical condition.
Apple dropped her and then came a gigantic lawsuit that resulted in her being fined $410,000 (£240,000) in 2017.
The judge said the money should be donated to “some or all” of the organisations and people Gibson had promised to give it to.
Nowadays she has disappeared completely from the public eye and has even refused to apologise.
But despite the large amount of public hate and websites dedicated to exposing her lies, this might not be the end of her story.
Belle is still active on Snapchat and there are rumours that she has posted comments about creating her own dating app.
Previously we shared how a terminally ill cancer woman, 28, was given just days to live after shunning chemo to enjoy her last hours shares heartbreaking final photos.
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