In 2023, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was released from the Chillicothe Correctional Center in Missouri after eight years behind bars — and her life outside prison has been eventful since.
Image Press Agency/Alamy Stock PhotoGypsy Rose Blanchard pictured in Los Angeles in May 2024.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s story captivated the public after it was revealed that her mother, Dee Dee, had been abusing her for years, subjecting her to unnecessary medical treatments and falsely claiming that Gypsy Rose suffered from various illnesses, including leukemia and muscular dystrophy.
Gypsy Rose, who eventually realized she wasn’t as sick as her mother claimed, orchestrated the murder of Dee Dee with her then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, in 2015. Godejohn fatally stabbed Dee Dee in her Missouri home, and then he and Gypsy Rose fled to Godejohn’s home in Wisconsin. After Dee Dee’s body was found, it didn’t take long for police to track down and arrest the couple, especially since Gypsy Rose’s friend had tipped off the police about the pair’s secret online relationship.
While Godejohn was soon sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder, Gypsy Rose was sentenced to just 10 years for second-degree murder. While incarcerated at Missouri’s Chillicothe Correctional Center, she gained a significant following of people who sympathized with her situation.
In December 2023, Gypsy Rose was released from prison after serving about eight years behind bars. Relocating to Louisiana, where she was born and where her father and stepmother live, she embraced her newfound freedom and became a social media star, at one point counting nearly 10 million followers, sitting for interviews and raising awareness about medical abuse.
By December 2024, she had welcomed her first child, a girl named Aurora, with her boyfriend Ken Urker. Gypsy Rose expressed that her growing family has brought her happiness, marking a new chapter in her life as a mother.
The Troubled Early Life Of Gypsy Rose Blanchard
YouTubeA young Gypsy Rose Blanchard with her mother, Dee Dee.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard was born on July 27, 1991, in Golden Meadow, Louisiana to her mother Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard and father Rod Blanchard. (Though Dee Dee and Rod were initially married, their romantic relationship didn’t last long and they quickly separated.)
From infancy, Gypsy Rose had purportedly been plagued with health issues. After visiting countless doctors, her mother claimed that she had muscular dystrophy, epilepsy, leukemia, and numerous other health issues.
After Hurricane Katrina destroyed their home, Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee moved to Missouri. There, the story of a caring single mother and her disabled daughter trying to persevere after a natural disaster captured the hearts of locals, national news outlets, and non-profit organizations.
Gypsy Rose and her mother soon received a new house in Springfield from Habitat for Humanity, along with generous gifts from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, like trips to Disney World and backstage passes at concerts.
To everyone, the Blanchards seemed to represent tenacity in the face of hardship. However, something evil lurked below the cheery facade.
A Brutal Murder And A Shocking Case Of Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy
X (Formerly Twitter)The Blanchards’ home, which was built by Habitat for Humanity.
By the 2010s, Gypsy Rose Blanchard had begun to yearn for more independence from her mother and started connecting with people online.
In 2012, at age 21, Gypsy Rose met Nicholas Godejohn, a 23-year-old from Wisconsin. The pair began a romantic relationship over the internet and eventually met up in person for the first time at a movie theater in Missouri.
Eventually, Gypsy Rose confessed to Godejohn that her mother was not the kindhearted woman she pretended to be. Together, the duo devised a shocking plan to take Dee Dee Blanchard out of the picture — forever.
On June 10, 2015, Gypsy Rose Blanchard hid in the bathroom at her Springfield, Missouri home while Godejohn snuck into her mother’s bedroom. Armed with a knife, Godejohn fatally stabbed Dee Dee Blanchard 17 times in the back. The couple then had sex in the home before stealing money and taking off for Godejohn’s Wisconsin home. Eventually, Gypsy Rose posted disturbing messages on Dee Dee’s Facebook page, alerting authorities that a serious crime had been committed in the home.
Public DomainNicholas Godejohn, Gypsy Rose’s boyfriend at the time of the murder.
When authorities discovered the grisly crime scene, they immediately began searching for Gypsy Rose Blanchard out of concerns that she may have been abducted and possibly even murdered herself. Thanks to a tip from one of Gypsy Rose’s friends, and tracking the IP address used to create the Facebook posts, they soon discovered the couple at Godejohn’s home in Wisconsin. They were shocked to find Gypsy Rose walking on her own.
In a shocking revelation, Gypsy Rose Blanchard confessed that she had never been as sick as her mother claimed, and that her mother had forced her to use a wheelchair and take unnecessary medications, among other horrific acts. (At this point, she did believe that she had leukemia, but she soon found out that her mother had also lied about that.)
Even her father, Rod Blanchard, was unaware that Gypsy Rose was not actually ill, as Dee Dee had full custody and limited their time together.
Many experts have suggested that Dee Dee Blanchard’s abuse stemmed from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a mental illness characterized by a caregiver faking a dependent’s illness in an attempt to gain attention.
Despite this, a gruesome murder had still been carried out, and those responsible would have to face consequences for their actions.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s Life Behind Bars
Public DomainGypsy Rose’s mug shot, taken after her arrest in Wisconsin.
For her role in her mother’s brutal murder, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was sentenced to 10 years in prison. As for Nicholas Godejohn, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The sentencing sparked many debates among the public. Some people argued that Gypsy Rose had already been punished enough, being the lifelong victim of her mother. Others believed that Gypsy Rose deserved more jail time for resorting to murder, rather than pursuing her legal options.
After the conclusion of the trial, Gypsy Rose was sent to the Chillicothe Correctional Center in Missouri. Even while behind bars, Gypsy Rose gained a following of supporters who advocated for her early release.
In prison interviews, Gypsy Rose professed remorse for her actions, but she also expressed some level of happiness despite the circumstances: “I feel like I’m freer in prison than living with my mom.”
ABCGypsy Rose in an ABC interview.
While behind bars, Gypsy Rose started two romantic relationships. She met a man named Ken Urker through a pen pal program and was briefly engaged to him, though their engagement was eventually called off. She also met Ryan Scott Anderson, whom she married in a prison ceremony in 2022.
Then, on December 28, 2023, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was released from Missouri’s Chillicothe Correctional Center into society’s largely open arms after serving about eight years of her 10-year sentence.
Where Is Gypsy Rose Blanchard Now?
Gypsy Rose Blanchard/InstagramGypsy Rose’s first public social media photo after her release from prison, which she captioned, “First selfie of freedom!”
As her release neared, Gypsy Rose Blanchard accepted more media interviews, in which she expressed excitement for the future.
“I’m ready for freedom,” Gypsy Rose told PEOPLE. “I’m ready to expand and I think that goes for every facet of my life.”
Soon after she was freed, she departed Missouri for Louisiana, where her father and stepmother live. Since then, she’s spent much of her time reconnecting with them at their home in Cut Off.
In 2024, she appeared on Good Morning America, The View, and podcasts, discussing her past and her plans for the future. Due to the popularity of her story, Gypsy Rose became a social media star virtually overnight.
“I mean, I think that with social media is concerned, I think that I wanted to be like everyone else — and have that right of freedom to have social media and interact with my friends online,” she told ABC about her social media stardom. “I had no idea that I would have 9.8 million followers.”
With her platform, Gypsy Rose worked on several projects to spread awareness about Munchausen syndrome by proxy and share resources for both victims and those who might be suffering from the disorder.
But as she accepted more interviews and made more public appearances, she began to pull away from social media, at one point calling it “a doorway to hell” and deleting her accounts. Today, she uses social media sparingly.
Gypsy Rose’s life after prison seemed to move at lightning speed, and she has experienced a lot of turbulence in her love life in the meantime. Her relationship with Ryan Anderson came to an end in March 2024, and she soon began seeing her old pen pal and former fiancé Ken Urker.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard/InstagramKen Urker, Gypsy Rose’s boyfriend.
In a shocking announcement in July 2024, Gypsy Rose and Urker revealed that they were expecting their first child together. Then, on December 28, 2024, Gypsy Rose gave birth to her daughter, Aurora.
Ken Urker/InstagramThe birth of Gypsy Rose and Urker’s daughter, Aurora.
Gypsy Rose shared with her followers that she was leaning into motherhood and enjoying this new season of life. Though she has spent much of her life in the spotlight, she refuses to share public images of baby Aurora’s face.
After reading about where Gypsy Rose Blanchard is today, dive into the story of Karla Homolka, the infamous Barbie Killer. Then, read about Manuela Escobar, the reclusive daughter of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar.
