Netflix's Apple Cider Vinegar tells the story of Australian wellness influencer Belle Gibson. But the series' ending leaves audiences unclear on what happened to her after she fooled the world.
Similar to series like Baby Reindeer or Inventing Anna, Apple Cider Vinegar retells a wild real-life story (although the series is upfront about it being a "true-ish story based on a lie").
Much of the series is based on real-life events, pulled together from Gibson's publicized life, interviews she gave, and the book The Woman Who Fooled the World written by Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano.
Apple Cider Vinegar's Abrupt Ending Explained
Kaitlyn Dever (soon to be seen in The Last of Us Season 2) portrays Belle Gibson in all six episodes of Apple Cider Vinegar. The show dramatizes how the young woman purported to have brain cancer and claimed she cured it purely through a healthy diet and lifestyle.
This narrative helped Belle rise to fame on Instagram, and from there, she created a world-renowned app, The Whole Pantry, and launched a successful cookbook.
Toward the end of Apple Cider Vinegar, Gibson's wellness empire comes crashing down as her web of lies is revealed.
Things start to unravel at the funeral of Milla (Alycia Debnam-Carey), which Belle attends uninvited while grappling with an information request from journalists at The Age.
At the wake, Belle is stopped by her ex-friend and supporter Chanelle (Aisha Dee), who reveals that Milla hated Belle. She is then confronted on the phone by Fiona (Edwina Wren), the mother of a son with cancer for whom Belle hosted a fundraiser, who asks where the money from the donations is.
The Age then publishes a story revealing that no charities Belle claimed to be donating funds to via The Whole Pantry received any money. A follow-up article also calls into question the legitimacy of her cancer diagnosis.
Once published, Belle spirals and dodges the allegations. She says that the donations weren't received due to cash flow issues. Still, the damage is done, and Belle's followers turn on her.
Belle's cookbook is removed from the shelves, and she flees Australia. She attempts to find refuge at Apple in San Francisco but is escorted off the property, and the Whole Pantry app is removed from the app store.
Once back in Australia, Belle returns home to find that her partner, Clive (Silo's Ashley Zukerman), is willing to stand by her, and they pack up their lives and move to California.
Once there, Belle takes part in her famed television interview, where her lies about her cancer prognosis are exposed to the world.
Back in Australia, those fooled by Belle's story are left to pick up the pieces. Fiona reveals they are stopping treatment for her son. Justin (Mark Coles Smith) reconciles with his wife, Lucy (Tilda Cobham-Hervey), who decides to begin treatment for her cancer after falling prey to Belle's lies. Milla's family and friends learn how to carry on without her.
The ending of Apple Cider Vinegar begins to explain in a title card how the Australian government fined Belle Gibson for fraud until Dever interrupts in character to tell the audience to just "Google it."
So, What Happened to Belle Gibson?
As per the series' instructions, much of Gibson's story is online to read.
After Gibson's lies were exposed in the media and her tell-all interviews condemned her, Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) investigated her.
As per ABC News, Gibson was fined $410,000 after being found guilty of misleading and deceptive conduct. It was reported that Gibson had earned $440,500 in revenue from her book sales and The Whole Pantry's app.
Gibson failed to appear in court for the ruling and her hearings. At the time, Justice Mortimer, the judge on her case, said her conduct showed a "relentless obsession with herself and what best serves her interests."
A year later, Gibson still had not paid her fines, so CAV launched further legal action against her. It threatened her with jail time if she did not pay up.
The Guardian reported that Gibson's Melbourne home was raided to try to recover the costs of the fines.
By 2021, the Australian Woman's Weekly reported that Gibson's case had been marked "abandoned" by the Federal Court despite Gibson having paid nothing.
Since then, Gibson has rarely been seen in public. However, The Woman's Weekly reported that in 2020, Gibson was spotted reinventing herself as a member of Melbourne's Oromo community, known as Sabontu. The outlet reported that after journalists told the head of the Ethiopian community her identity, he asked Gibson to leave.
It's often reiterated throughout Apple Cider Vinegar that Gibson was not paid a cent for her story to be brought to the screen and was not involved in the adaptation process.
What Does the Ending of Apple Cider Vinegar Mean?
Despite her serious crimes, the ending of Apple Cider Vinegar leaves Belle Gibson in a surprisingly good place.
She lost her wellness empire, book deal, and app, but Belle manages to move to LA with her son and partner and is depicted sitting happily with them by the pool.
Dever told Tudum that the final scene of the family is "really twisted" and that she approached it with the intention that Belle "really does want to be a good mom:"
"She wants to give love to her son. At her core, Belle really does want to be a good mom. That’s what I was thinking about in that moment. That scene is really twisted. It’s dark, heartbreaking, sad — it’s so many emotions wrapped up into one. To end the series in that way is really, really powerful."
The series also depicts Belle as being rewarded with $75,000 for participating in the 60 Minutes interview. While much of this interview is faithfully recreated in the Netflix series, one divergence is that when Belle is asked whether she has cancer, she responds with, “I really, really hope not.”
According to showrunner Samantha Strauss (via Tudum), this is a rare moment of Belle being honest in the show:
"She’s saying, ‘I really hope I can be well.’ Does Belle think she’s a scammer? I think everyone is the hero of their own story. No one sees themselves as the bad guy."
Apple Cider Vinegar is streaming on Netflix.
