He’s the mystery man who has acted as the father of cancer fraudster Belle Gibson’s child practically since birth.
But if Gibson is telling the truth about Clive Rothwell, he’s a man she knows absolutely nothing about.
In the Federal Court last week, Gibson again specifically asked to swear on a bible that she would tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Clive Rothwell has apparently acted as the step father of Belle Gibson’s child since he was only a few months old. A source has suggested he will stick with Gibson to ensure the child is cared for
![Belle Gibson leaves the Federal Court in Melbourne last week in hot pursuit by the media. Gibson has claimed under oath that she has no idea what Clive Rothwell even does for a living](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/06/24/07/15167804-7173517-Belle_Gibson_leaves_the_Federal_Court_in_Melbourne_last_week_in_-a-11_1561357932618.jpg)
Belle Gibson leaves the Federal Court in Melbourne last week in hot pursuit by the media. Gibson has claimed under oath that she has no idea what Clive Rothwell even does for a living
A source has told Daily Mail Australia Mr Rothwell has acted as ‘step father’ to Gibson’s now nine-year old son Oliver since he was only a couple of months old.
Gibson told the court last week she had been forced to sell Oliver’s possessions to make ends meet.
Mr Rothwell has been nowhere to be seen at his housemate’s court appearances.
When converged upon by media packs outside his Northcote rental property, he puts his head down and rides off on a bicycle.
In years gone by – happier times perhaps – he has been pictured smiling by Gibson’s side.
While unconfirmed reports have noted him as being engaged to the fraudster, it is clear Gibson shares some kind of relationship with Mr Rothwell – and by her own account, it is a very strange one.
When Gibson appeared in the Federal Court in March, she swore she knew little about the man who had blown thousands on her.
He paid for lavish overseas trips, provides his car, paid her legal expenses and has financed her lifestyle.
![Clive Rothwell (centre) as he and Belle Gibson (left) are bamboozled by an A Current Affair reporter on their return from an overseas jaunt. Mr Rothwell apparently pays for Gibson's trips overseas](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/06/24/07/15167816-7173517-Clive_Rothwell_centre_as_he_and_Belle_Gibson_left_are_bamboozled-a-12_1561357932627.jpg)
Clive Rothwell (centre) as he and Belle Gibson (left) are bamboozled by an A Current Affair reporter on their return from an overseas jaunt. Mr Rothwell apparently pays for Gibson’s trips overseas
At that hearing, it was revealed Gibson wrote to the Department of Justice declaring she owed Mr Rothwell $90,000.
When asked in court what the money was for, she said she did not know. The bill remains outstanding.
She told the court that the pair were ‘just friends’ but that she did not even know what he did for a living – he’s an IT consultant.
‘Do you know what Clive does?’ Consumer Affairs Victoria barrister Elle Nikou Madalin asked during more than two hours of grilling about Gibson’s finances.
‘No. That’s not my business,’ Gibson responded.
Gibson has been hauled before the court to explain why she can’t pay a $410,000 fine she incurred for pretending to cure cancer through healthy living.
![Belle Gibson was a social media darling before she was exposed as a dirty fraud who had pretended to have cured cancer with healthy living. She owes $410,000 in fines over the claims](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/06/24/07/15167812-7173517-Belle_Gibson_was_a_social_media_darling_before_she_was_exposed_a-a-13_1561357932887.jpg)
Belle Gibson was a social media darling before she was exposed as a dirty fraud who had pretended to have cured cancer with healthy living. She owes $410,000 in fines over the claims
If the consumer watchdog’s calculations are accurate – and you can assume they are – it believes Gibson has blown about $91,000 on herself over the past two years while earning just on $35,000.
About $13,000 of that went on on clothes, cosmetics and accessories, it claimed.
Little is known about the little boy’s real father, other that he vanished a long time ago.
Gibson told the court this week that he only recently started paying child support and that she couldn’t remember how long she had even been with him before Oliver was born.
Gibson – contradictory to her earlier appearance – claimed she kept no records of what exactly she owned to Mr Rothwell.
Under oath, Gibson claimed she was unemployed, and had done odd jobs, including work for somebody only referred to as Maxine.
The owner of Maxine’s Erotic Ultra Lounge on Sydney Rd in Brunswick, Maxine Fensom, told Daily Mail Australia Gibson created a website for her in 2016.
![Belle Gibson took on work for Maxine Fensom, who runs a Melbourne burlesque school in trendy Brunswick. Gibson locked the owner out of her own website](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/06/24/07/15167800-7173517-Belle_Gibson_took_on_work_for_Maxine_Fensom_who_runs_a_Melbourne-a-14_1561357932901.jpg)
Belle Gibson took on work for Maxine Fensom, who runs a Melbourne burlesque school in trendy Brunswick. Gibson locked the owner out of her own website
![Maxine’s Erotic Ultra Lounge owner Maxine Fensom described Gibson as 'mad' after she hijacked her own website, forcing her to hack into it to make a new password](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/06/24/07/15167802-7173517-Maxine_s_Erotic_Ultra_Lounge_owner_Maxine_Fensom_described_Gibso-a-15_1561357932908.jpg)
Maxine’s Erotic Ultra Lounge owner Maxine Fensom described Gibson as ‘mad’ after she hijacked her own website, forcing her to hack into it to make a new password
Last week, Daily Mail Australia revealed exclusively that Gibson had told tech executives she owned a digital agency.
Ms Fensom, who is now based in the United States, said she believed Gibson was operating businesses from abroad in an effort to hide her income from authorities.
‘She didn’t seem too worried about being bankrupted,’ she said. ‘She was advised by her lawyers not to turn up to court and myself and (another journalist) have spoken to her a number of times and we just said “For Christ sake, you need to humble yourself”.’
Ms Fensom is convinced Gibson does not care about the current legal action to recover her debts and fines in Australia.
‘She just thinks “I don’t give a sh*t, I’ll just take my work from overseas”,’ she said.
Ms Fensom described Gibson as somebody who has an excellent mind for business, but it comes with a price.
‘Honestly I think she’s quite brilliant, but I think she’s quite mad,’ she said.
Ms Fensom went so far to say she believed Gibson had used symptoms from some of her own health issues to promote her cancer lies.
![Belle Gibson after winning the Social Media Star of the Year Cosmopolitan Fun Fearless Female Awardsin 2014. She would later be exposed as a fraud who duped Australians](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/06/24/07/15167810-7173517-Belle_Gibson_after_winning_the_Social_Media_Star_of_the_Year_Cos-a-16_1561357932911.jpg)
Belle Gibson after winning the Social Media Star of the Year Cosmopolitan Fun Fearless Female Awardsin 2014. She would later be exposed as a fraud who duped Australians
![Belle Gibson's The Whole Pantry app launched with the Apple iwatch, but was later pulled when she was found to be a dirty, rotten liar](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/06/24/07/15167814-7173517-Belle_Gibson_s_The_Whole_Pantry_app_launched_with_the_Apple_iwat-a-17_1561357932916.jpg)
Belle Gibson’s The Whole Pantry app launched with the Apple iwatch, but was later pulled when she was found to be a dirty, rotten liar
‘It’s just like crazy. Crazy, crazy stuff. But I personally liked her, but I really didn’t know much about her,’ she said. ‘I think she’s just in complete denial, to be honest, about any of it.’
Ms Fensom said while Gibson did a good job with her website, she quickly went rogue.
‘She locked me out of my own website, which really upset me because there was no reason to do that. And I had to get someone to hack into my site to get my bloody password changed. That was annoying.’