Disgraced blogger and mother of one, Belle Gibson was rumored to have been engaged to Clive Rothwell, the man who has been reportedly bankrolling her. Details explored.
Belle Gibson, then 21-year-old social influencer, rose to fame as a young, single mother with a tragic diagnosis of cancer.
Throughout her career, she had amassed thousands of followers on social media by faking two cardiac arrests and a stroke, and then alleging she had terminal cancer, per Australian News.
The full story of Belle Gibson’s fraud is untangled in the ITVX documentary The Search For Instagram’s Worst Con Artist.
Each episode is an hour long. The first covers Belle’s rise to fame and the incredible discovery of her scheme. The second delves deeper into Gibson’s history of lies, including interviews with her brother and stepfather talking about her unusual childhood.
She does not appear in the two-part docuseries about her but older brother Nick has given a rare interview for the series.
Here’s what we know about the serial liar’s personal life, like, who she is married to and if she has any children.
Who is Belle Gibson’s husband?
There are no substantial reports about former influencer Belle Gibson’s love life.
She is not known to have been officially married and hence, she has no legal husband or spouse.
However, a man named Clive Rothwell was once rumored to be engaged to Gibson, the Mail Online reported.
Contrary to the engagement rumours, Gibson once told the court that she and Rothwell were “just friends” – despite him spending thousands on overseas trips for her.
Clive Rothwell was identified by Gibson as the person who had been effectively bankrolling her lifestyle since she was exposed as a complete fraud.
Clive Rothwell was the one who reportedly registered the domains The Whole Pantry app and The Whole Life for Gibson, who had wanted to expand her brand beyond the app, in her corporate name.
He advertised in December 2014 to recruit an IT specialist to expand the app and brand portfolio.
After the Gibson controversy broke in March 2015, she had seriously overstated the level of charitable contributions that had been made and $1,000 of the $7,000 had been donated to a charitable cause under Rothwell’s name, rather than Gibson’s or the company name.
Mr Rothwell made a hasty retreat from their Northcote property home, amid a flurry of questions from a media horde.
How many children does Belle Gibson have?
Convicted scammer who lied about having cancer, Belle Gibson is a mother. She has a son called Oliver.
Gibson, who was involved in the skateboarding culture and actively participated in its online community in Perth, moved to Melbourne in July 2009 and became a mother one year later.
Her son, Oliver, was born in July 2010 when Gibson was 18 years old.
Three years later, Gibson launched The Whole Pantry mobile app in August 2013, at age 21.
The identity of Oliver’s father isn’t public knowledge, however, many believe it is Clive Rothwell, her rumored fiance.
Per MailOnline, Rothwell reportedly acted as a step-father to him from when he was young.
Who is Belle Gibson and how did she become famous?
Belle Gibson (real name: Annabelle Natalie Gibson) is a social media personality, author, pseudoscience advocate, and food and health blogger who gained prominence through Instagram.
Gibson was born in October 1991, in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, to Natalie Dal-Bello.
She has often stated in most of her interviews that she left her family home in Brisbane at age 12 to live with her classmate and later lived with a family friend.
Reports claim that during her time as a blogger, Gibson also told lies about her sibling, seemingly to make her home life seem more difficult than it was.
Gibson is a High school dropout. She attended Wynnum State High School in Manly, Queensland, until dropping out in Year 10. She later revealed she was homeschooled, too.
She worked for some time as a trainee for catering supply company PFD Food Services in Lytton, but social media reflected that by late 2008 she had relocated to Perth, Western Australia. There, she was involved in the skateboarding culture and actively participated in its online community.
After amassing thousands of followers Gibson launched her The Whole Pantry app in August 2013 at age 21. She later launched its companion cookbook.
The platform had a whopping 200,000 users reportedly downloading the app within the first month — going on to be voted Apple’s Best Food and Drink App of 2013.
She later signed a deal with Lantern Books for a coffee table cookbook which was published in October 2014.
Amazingly the book is still for sale on Amazon with the following description: “Belle Gibson is an inspirational young mother who encourages us to nourish ourselves in a more natural and sustainable way.
“After being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer Belle found herself unsupported by conventional medicine. She began a journey of self-education to treat herself through nutrition. Her award-winning app, The Whole Pantry, is a phenomenal resource of recipes, wellness guides and personal support, and has inspired hundreds of thousands of people to change their diet and lifestyle.”
Belle is known for fabricated claims of having had multiple cancers that were self-treated through diet and alternative medicine.
Also, she reportedly fabricated claims of undergoing multiple heart surgeries and having strokes.
Lastly, she was charged with fraudulent claims of donating $300,000 of income to charities.