The heartbreaking real story of the child who inspired Hunter in Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar

We’re all gripped right now by the Netflix show Apple Cider Vinegar, about a wellness scammer who claimed holistic treatments had cured her brain cancer. In 2015, it came to light she’d never had cancer at all. Belle Gibson is absolutely a real person. Another character in Apple Cider Vinegar, Hunter, isn’t a real person, but his story seems to have been inspired by a real boy called Joshua Schwarz. Here’s the heartbreaking true story of how Joshua Schwarz knew Belle Gibson.

What happens to Hunter in Apple Cider Vinegar?

In the Netflix show Apple Cider Vinegar, the character Hunter Cross is a young boy with brain cancer. Belle meets his mother Fiona outside a hospital in Melbourne. Belle Gibson says she’s donating a month of profits from her app The Whole Pantry to Hunter’s family, to fund an experimental treatment which could save his life. She gains lots of attention on social media by posting so much about Hunter.

Belle Gibson in Apple Cider Vinegar (Image via Netflix)

After Belle’s scam is exposed, the Cross family gets lots of media attention and is accused of being part of another scam with Belle. Hunter’s dad is told to prove his son has terminal cancer and share any news of his funeral. Right at the end of the series, Hunter’s mother Fiona says she has to cancel his surgery, because she can’t afford it. The implication is that the family never got any of the money Belle Gibson promised, and Hunter will get more ill.

Hunter in Apple Cider Vinegar appears to have been inspired by a real boy called Joshua

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In 2013, Joshua was diagnosed with a rare incurable brain tumour. He was only the 16th person in the world to be diagnosed with the condition. His parents were initially told he had four months to live. He was five. Belle Gibson got in touch on social media with Joshua’s parents, Penne and Wolfgang. They became friends. Belle Gibson’s son had playdates with Joshua. She mentioned the Schwarz family in the acknowledgements section of her recipe book, and called Joshua “the second little man after my own heart”.

She posted lots about him on social media, and claimed profits from her wellness app The Whole Pantry would go to him. The Schwarz family didn’t know Belle was claiming to be raising money for Joshua, and never received money from her. They also never gave permission for Joshua to be mentioned in Belle’s book.

After Belle Gibson’s scam was exposed in 2015, Penne told the Herald Sun: “I feel humiliated and betrayed. I thought she was an inspiration. I feel like I don’t even know this person anymore.” The family was trolled online by people who accused them of lying about cancer and said “horrendous things”.

Joshua sadly died in January 2017.

Apple Cider Vinegar is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news and drops, like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.