Beyond Apple Cider Vinegar,’s sharp, tongue-in-cheek commentary on the toxicity of social media’s wellness obsession is a ‘true-ish story based on a lie’ inspired by real-life events and people.
If you’ve found yourself hooked on Netflix’s new series, you’d be forgiven for your curiosity about the people who inspired the show’s characters.
Of course, there’s the show’s titular character, Belle Gibson, based on the Australian cancer fraudster, but who was the real-life Milla Blake?
Milla, played by Alycia Debnam-Carey, is a young, fun and successful woman (she worked at Girlfriend in the golden era of magazines, after all) whose life is turned upside down when she is diagnosed with cancer. Refusing to have her arm amputated in what doctors say would be a life-saving surgery, Milla turns to natural remedies to try and fight her diagnosis.
Who Is Apple Cider Vinegar‘s Milla Based On?
Apple Cider Vinegar’s Milla appears to be based on Dolly Magazine’s digital editor, Jessica Ainscough who was diagnosed with a rare soft-tissue cancer called epithelioid sarcoma in her early 20s.
Per The Guardian, Ainscough received the same medical advice we see given to Milla in the show, suggesting her best chance of survival would be to have her arm amputated at the shoulder.
Following chemo-therapy Ainscough reportedly turned to an alternative (according to the Cancer Council, invalid and ineffective) cancer treatment called Gerson Therapy, which involves a “special diet, supplements and injections of liver extracts” as well as regular coffee enemas.
Sharing her experience with the regime online, Ainscough soon gained a sizeable following becoming known as a “wellness warrior”.
Speaking to Fairfax about her blog, she said: “It started out as a personal journal online and attracted a worldwide family craving this information.”
Following the passing of her mum, who lost her battle with breast cancer and was also following the same form of alternative therapy, Ainscough revealed her health had rapidly deteriorated.
“For the last few months, I’ve been pretty much bedridden,” she wrote. “This year absolutely brought me to my knees.”
Sadly, Ainscough succumbed to her cancer just months later in early 2015, passing away at the age of 30.
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