Family members of cancer fraudster Belle Gibson, who faked a brain tumour to promote her lucrative wellness brand, have shed light on the disgraced influencer’s difficult childhood.
In their first interview, Belle Gibson’s step-father, Andrew Dal-Bello, and brother, Nick Gibson, from Melbourne, have lifted the lid on her troubling childhood, where a complex relationship with her mother, Natalie Dal-Bello, saw her move out of home in her early teens to live with a ‘random man’.
Belle, now 32, who claimed to suffer from a malignant brain tumour, said she’d cured herself with an exercise regime and alternative medicine therapies.
Her fabrications came to light in 2015 when she was exposed as a bare-faced liar and thief.
Belle’s mother Natalie passed away in 2017 following a years-long battle with multiple sclerosis, a lifelong condition that affects the brain and central nervous system. In a new ITV documentary, family members have revealed she ‘struggled to parent Belle’ and ‘lost control’.
Belle’s step-father Andrew Dal-Ballo (pictured) revealed that Belle had a rocky relationship with her mother
Belle Gibson’s brother, Nick Gibson (pictured), has delved into his troubled relationship with his sister in ITV1’s Instagram’s Worst Con Artist
In Instagram’s Worst Con Artist on ITV1, Belle’s step-father Andrew revealed: ‘Natalie did struggle with parenting, she really lost control I believe.’
‘I met Natalie in June 2012, but her health became worse over a period of time, and eventually in 2017, Natalie passed away.’
‘I would say that they were probably quite close in the early part, but there’s always been issues in their relationship, and also with Nick and Belle, definitely.’
Belle had claimed she was given four months to live with an inoperable brain tumour but escaped death through a fruit and veg-based ‘clean eating’ diet.
The message sparked a global wellness phenomenon, which led to her The Whole Pantry phone app – the first of its kind in the world – being promoted by Apple and a lucrative book deal with Penguin.
The influencer’s story quickly began to unravel, and in April 2015, she admitted she had lied.
In an interview with Australia Women’s Weekly, she said: ‘No… None of it’s true,’ before adding she hoped people would forgive her and see that she was only ‘human’.
‘We saw the article in Women’s Weekly,’ Belle’s step-father Andrew said in ITV1’s Instagram’s Worst Con Artist. He added: ‘It’s what made Natalie want to have her say.
Belle’s wellness scam fooled thousands. She’s pictured above in 2014 after being crowned Cosmopolitan’s ‘Social Media Star of the Year’
Nick likened his relationship with Belle during their childhood (pictured) to ‘glue’, adding that the pair had a ‘strong bond’
‘I looked up the Women’s Weekly number, and I called. When Natalie saw the article, she burst into tears. It became very overwhelming for her. Natalie was beside herself.
‘I think Natalie wanted to apologise to all the people that had been hurt, to set the record straight about what Belle said about a dysfunctional home, that really got her mad.’
However, despite Natalie wanting to set the record straight about Belle’s upbringing, Andrew alluded to a murky past, suggesting that their relationship was anything but plain sailing.
Andrew explained: ‘Looking back at it, I think it would have been hard times for Nick and Belle because Natalie was dating people you and I perhaps wouldn’t date.
‘[They] took advantage of Natalie and didn’t really give her a lot, but took a lot and some of them also did physical harm to Natalie, it was pretty tough times.’
Belle reportedly moved out of her mother’s home at the age of 13 and into the house of a ‘random’ man
Belle’s relationship with her older brother reportedly took a turn for the worst when they started high school
‘Eventually, Belle moved out of home. It was a very young age, I’m thinking around 13 to 15. According to Natalie, she had moved in with an old man not far from where she was living.’
Andrew questioned: ‘Why would you let a 13 to 15 year old go and live with a man down the road, an old man around a young girl doesn’t look too good to me.’
When asked about the ‘old man’ that Belle moved in with during her early teens, Belle’s older brother, Nick, 33, reported a similar account: ‘He just took Belle in.’
‘Personally, I didn’t like the guy from day dot. Mum should’ve got to know they guy better before she moved in, but it wasn’t done that way.’
He explained that, during childhood, he, and Belle ‘were stuck like glue’, adding: ‘We had a very strong bond.’
But as the pair got older, their dynamic altered: ‘It got harder as Belle and I got older, and we drifted apart from each other. It was a couple of years before high school started.
On the topic of Belle’s relationship with their mother, he said: ‘It was on and off for a long time, their relationship wasn’t the best I’ll be honest.’
Nick explained that Belle would get defensive about money, especially when Natalie was unable to provide her with the amount of spending money she desired.
‘I didn’t like the way Mum was being treated as well, Belle can be very aggressive and very vile with her words, it wasn’t pleasant at all,’ he said. Nick added: ‘It was very hard on myself and my Mum.’
In 2013, Belle Gibson launched the @healing_belle Instagram account where she gained a large following through sharing so-called ‘healing’ food recipes.
She claimed that her lifestyle and healthy eating plan had ‘cured’ her inoperable brain cancer, which she had been diagnosed with at the age of 20 and given just months to live.
Belle claimed she had undergone traditional cancer treatments including chemotherapy and radiotherapy before abandoning modern medicine to follow a programme of clean eating instead.
Before long the deals began to roll in, with Gibson launching an app full of recipes as well as a book deal, reportedly worth £213,500 ($420,000 AUD).
Describing her plant-based diet in her book, she said: ‘I was empowering myself to save my own life through nutrition, patience, determination, and love.’
However, in 2014, the Melbourne-based personality claimed that despite her new wellness-focused lifestyle, her cancer had returned, and this time it had spread.
While many fans were devastated by the news, suspicions were soon raised about the money she claimed to have donated to various charities from the proceeds of her book.
Following an investigation by Fairfax Media, it was discovered that none of the charities Belle had named had received a penny from her.
The influencer’s story quickly began to unravel and in April 2015, she was forced to admit she had lied.
In an interview with Australia Women’s Weekly, she said: ‘No… None of it’s true,’ before adding she hoped people would forgive her and see that she was only ‘human’.
Two years after her admission, Belle was fined around £215,000 ($410,000 AUD) after being found guilty of misleading and deceptive conduct.
The former wellness blogger has now adopted the ‘Oromo’ ethnic group in Melbourne, even taking to wearing a headscarf and naming herself ‘Sabontu’.
Instagram’s Worst Con Artist ITV1 & ITVX 9pm Thursday.