Of all the things I expected to feel about Apple Cider Vinegar, sadness wasn’t one of them. Annoyed, sure. Entertained and horrified, I expected (and indeed felt) that, but I wasn’t ready for despair.

But before we get into my complex emotions about the series, let’s rewind a little. In 2013, Belle Gibson rose to fame in Australia as a wellness influencer who claimed to be managing (and beating) brain cancer through healthy eating. A hugely successful app, recipe book and lifestyle brand followed. However, in 2017 it all came tumbling down when it was revealed that Gibson did not, in fact, have a malignant tumour and was convicted of misleading and deceptive conduct. 

A book about that scandal, The Woman Who Fooled The World: The True Story Of Fake Wellness Guru Belle Gibson, by journalists Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano, is the inspiration for the new series on Netflix. “A real story, based on a lie,” says the drama’s intro, and it’s one that had me feeling a lot of surprising feelings. 

Across six episodes and jumping backwards and forwards between 2009 and 2015, the series follows Belle’s (Kaitlyn Dever, Dopesick) ups and downs. From terrible parents and a toxic relationship and pregnancy in her early 20s to the start of her lie and subsequent rise to adulation and wealth, her story intertwines with another wellness blogger, Milla (Alycia Debnam-Carey), whose journey to cure her own cancer through juice and enemas inspired Belle’s grift and led to a complex rivalry. 

Belle is manipulative, annoying and craves attention – but there’s something so real in her loneliness and how desperate she is to be liked and seen. The value and meaning she gets from social media (at the time when Instagram was just launching) is still depressingly prescient today. And Dever’s excellent and nuanced performance never excuses Belle’s behaviour, yet it allows room for us to feel sympathy. 

The drama has the wellness industry firmly in its sights – the name of the show is a nod to the store cupboard product so often espoused as a cure-all – highlighting how people with no proper credentials or experience have been elevated (usually because of their looks and status) and enabled to exploit people in need by spreading misinformation. Meanwhile, many women’s very real illnesses and issues are dismissed and diminished, leaving them to take desperate measures.   

It also takes aim at girl boss culture and how, during that time (and, again, what’s really changed?) being thin, white, healthy and, crucially, eating clean was the ultimate influence. There’s a line in the series I keep coming back to: “I thought I could become whole through diet” that sums up some of the harm done by the narrative we’ve been pedalled. 

Witty, smart, knotty and timely, I’ve watched three episodes of Apple Cider Vinegar so far and I’m willing 5.30pm to arrive so I can blast my way through the final three. I’m ready to sob and make grand declarations about never going on social media again. 

Images: Netflix