Nick Gibson is sick of guilt by association.
The shy and conflicted young father wants to clear his name and let the world know he is nothing like his sister Belle.
"I don't like that hate word, but sometimes I feel like turning around to her and saying, 'Belle, I hate you'," Nick told 60 Minutes.
It's been more than a decade since Belle Gibson first duped the public.
Posing as a sick young mum, she courageously documented her battle with an inoperable brain tumour on Instagram.
'I hated myself and I didn't want to be around. I was shy, placid and I didn't like to be out in public just because of things she said.'
Cancer victims around the world were captivated by her strength, and then rejoiced when she announced whole foods and alternative treatments - not conventional medicine - had led to a miraculous cure.
Her story was inspiring enough for her online followers to part with half a million dollars to buy her award-winning cookbook and wellness app.
Lying had turned Belle into a hero.
"She knows what she's done and said, it's completely wrong, it's embarrassing," Nick said.
They might be siblings, but Nick said he's spent the past eight years fending off Belle's untruths about their upbringing.
He's especially angry about an invention used by Belle to garner sympathy on multiple occasions, that he is autistic.
"I don't have autism at all," Nick said.
"Even when I was a kid, she used to call me retard."
"I hated myself and I didn't want to be around. I was shy, placid and I didn't like to be out in public just because of things she said."
Nick said in 2016, when Belle was desperately trying to convince the media she really did have cancer, seeing her interview with Tara Brown on 60 Minutes was a confronting moment.
He wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.
"I was sitting in the lounge room and it came on and I was shocked, I was thinking to myself, 'is that even Belle? Is that my sister?'"
Nick confirmed that to his knowledge, his sister had never suffered cancer, had any heart operations or suffered any cardiac arrests.
'I've got a heart. If I had every single family she's hurt in front of me right now, I'll be saying sorry to them.'
And despite her lies being so publicly exposed, Nick still doesn't believe Belle has learnt any lessons.
He said in 2017, when their mother Natalie was dying, Belle's greed continued to take priority over her compassion.
"Mum had jewellery before she passed away on her body, and then when I went back to visit Mum at the hospice it was gone," Nick claimed.
In 2017, Belle was fined $410,000 by the Federal Court for engaging in unconscionable conduct, but despite multiple attempts by authorities to get the money, it still hasn't been paid.
Nick believes only one punishment will get through to his sister - jail.
"Go to prison and think about what she's done."
These siblings have had rare contact via text message, but haven't spoken to each other in years.
Nick realises that's unlikely to change, but he wants Belle to know she has an obligation, even so many years on, to try to right her many wrongs.
"I've got a heart. If I had every single family she's hurt in front of me right now, I'll be saying sorry to them," he said.
"If I had the money, I'll give it back to them."
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMilgFodHRwczovLzlub3cubmluZS5jb20uYXUvNjAtbWludXRlcy9iZWxsZS1naWJzb25zLWJyb3RoZXItbmljay1naWJzb24tcmV2ZWFscy10aGUtdHJ1dGgtYWJvdXQtdGhlLWNhbmNlci1jb253b21hbi9jYjI4ZjdhMi1lMDQwLTQxZWMtOTAzMi0wMGM3NGYyYjliZGbSAURodHRwczovL2FtcC5uaW5lLmNvbS5hdS9hcnRpY2xlL2NiMjhmN2EyLWUwNDAtNDFlYy05MDMyLTAwYzc0ZjJiOWJkZg?oc=5
2024-05-19 10:49:35Z
CBMilgFodHRwczovLzlub3cubmluZS5jb20uYXUvNjAtbWludXRlcy9iZWxsZS1naWJzb25zLWJyb3RoZXItbmljay1naWJzb24tcmV2ZWFscy10aGUtdHJ1dGgtYWJvdXQtdGhlLWNhbmNlci1jb253b21hbi9jYjI4ZjdhMi1lMDQwLTQxZWMtOTAzMi0wMGM3NGYyYjliZGbSAURodHRwczovL2FtcC5uaW5lLmNvbS5hdS9hcnRpY2xlL2NiMjhmN2EyLWUwNDAtNDFlYy05MDMyLTAwYzc0ZjJiOWJkZg
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