If you, like us, have already gobbled up Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar, you’ve probably found yourself wondering — just how much of the true story is actually true? The addictive six-part miniseries tells the story of Belle Gibson, an Australian wellness influencer who built an empire off the back of her personal journey to recovery from cancer using holistic treatments — the only catch? Her whole story turned out to be a lie.
Not only does Apple Cider Vinegar satisfy our cravings for a good, old-fashioned wellness scammer narrative, it also hooks us with its claim that is it a “true story based on lies.”
While Belle’s story is based on truth, just how much of the show is also inspired by real events? One character we can’t stop wondering about? Chanelle. Is her story also true?
Ben King/Netflix
Who is Chanelle in Apple Cider Vinegar?
In the show, Chanelle, played by Aisha Dee, is the first person to suspect Belle’s story. Working alongside Milla Blake — a woman who really did have cancer — Chanelle becomes Belle’s manager and later becomes the whistleblower who tells journalists Nick Toscano and Beau Donnelly about her suspicions surrounding Belle.
Is Chanelle from Apple Cider Vinegar a real person?
Short answer: kind of.
Chanelle McAuliffe is a real woman who did alert journalists to Gibson’s story.
McAuliffe spoke to Stylist about what really happened between her and Belle.
“We met in 2014 when I was interning at a publishing house that wanted me to do a piece on her for one of their magazines,” she said. “At the time, Belle was a viral influencer who claimed to be beating her terminal diagnosis by eating healthy foods and whose recipe app, Whole Pantry, had been snapped up by Apple. She invited me to one of her events and we later ended up going for brunch, which turned into a series of brunches, and we became friends.”