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A man claiming to have worked alongside Belle Gibson last year at a Melbourne supermarket has told how the cancer scammer encouraged shoppers to buy vegetarian food, would meditate in the chilled storage room and believed vaccines caused cancer.
The co-worker who requested his name not be used in this piece, has told Woman’s Day that he worked with Belle over a period between 2023 and 2024 and that she worked on the deli counter.
“I didn’t recognise her until the last week of me working there. ‘I said, do you remember Belle Gibson and you look like her.’ Her whole face just dropped and her calm demeanour changed.”
“She didn’t say yes, she didn’t say no, she just kind of freaked out a little bit.”
While it’s not known if this woman is actually the disgraced blogger and wellness influencer – currently the subject of the hit Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar – much of her behaviour appears to confirm it could be.
NEW NAME
This woman wore a “Mel” label on her uniform, was passionate about food and advising customers on healthy living.
“She was vegetarian and would often get into it with customers about vegetarian alternatives for different food,” claims her co-worker.
“With regulars she knew their order but any time there was a new person who asked for like salami or ham, she would offer them a vegan or vegetarian alternative. She got a lot of people to try the vegan cheese!”
“Mel”, he says, was “very nice” and “sweet”.
“The oldies loved her because she was always recommending different stuff that would be better on their digestion. She always remembered regulars’ orders and people by name. She was great at her job and customers loved her.”
“She was always in charge of the cheese platters. Things that people could order and she would make an arrangement and she was really passionate about food and food arrangement.”
The real Belle rose to fame amid her claim that she had overcome terminal brain cancer through natural remedies and a healthy lifestyle. She later admitted she falsified her diagnosis.
The co-worker alleges he witnessed his colleague requesting to be paid in cash.
“She often asked [and] she would get paid in cash almost every time,” he alleges.
“Maybe that’s part of her being in hiding.”
SPIRITUAL & LIKED
The supermarket worker says the woman he worked with was preoccupied with her health.
“She kept saying a lot of vaccines give you cancer and that’s why the government went with AstraZeneca [during the pandemic]. She was really into swimming and would go to the aquatic centre. She said she liked swimming there because it was really quiet in the water. She didn’t have to talk to anybody.”
“Mel” was also “very spiritual” and often wore a head scarf which she took off at work.
“She would sit in the fridge and listen to a guided meditation type thing and she called it a reverse sauna. She would turn the fridge temperature down for like 10 minutes.
“One time she forgot to turn it back to where it was supposed to be and she froze all the meat and the boss was pretty upset.”
In 2017, Belle was found guilty of engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct by the Federal Court and she was subsequently fined $410,000 plus $30,000 in legal costs which she is yet to pay.
The co-worker says that, in hindsight, “Mel” was “very secretive” about her life. She didn’t attend staff get-togethers and would give little about herself away.
“She was much more interested in other people. I didn’t know very much about her at all but I really liked her.”
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