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Who Is Gypsy Rose Blanchard? Inside the True Crime Case the Internet Can’t Get Enough Of

Here is everything to know about Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s horrific story and her peculiar rise to fame.

In December, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was released from prison . She was granted parole after serving more than eight years of a 10-year jail sentence for the murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard.  

The 32-year-old Missouri native made headlines as she was sentenced to 10 years for orchestrating a plan to kill her mother with the help of her former boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, in 2015. Following the revelation that her mother allegedly had Munchausen syndrome by proxy, the story caught the public’s attention after the release of HBO’s true crime documentary, Mommy Dead and Dearest , in 2017. Two years later, Hulu released a dramatized miniseries on the Blanchards, The Act , starring Joey King and Patricia Arquette as Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee respectively. The show went on to receive several Emmy nominations and one win. 

Since her release, Gypsy has become an overnight star, with millions of supporters gravitating to her Instagram and TikTok accounts in solidarity. Upon her first days out, she promoted her highly anticipated six-hour special, The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard , which is set to premiere on Lifetime on Jan. 5. Blanchard has also given fans an inside look into her love life and marriage with husband Ryan Scott Anderson, a 37-year-old special education teacher from Louisiana. “I’m married to the most wonderful, most beautiful woman in the world, Gypsy Rose Blanchard,” Ryan's IG bio reads. 

View this photo on Instagram

Recently, Missouri demanded Blanchard be removed from the state, even canceling her and her husband's plans to attend the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Bengals game in hopes of meeting Taylor Swift. Her parole officer ordered the Swiftie to leave the state “to avoid any security issues due to her popularity,” per Complex . 

As Gypsy Rose continues to make headlines, even some about the more intimate details of her private life , here’s everything to know about the new internet sensation and her story. 

Gypsy Rose was a victim of child abuse 

For over two decades, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was a victim of child abuse by her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard. Her mother had a mental disorder called Munchausen syndrome by proxy , which is a rare form of abuse that results in a guardian feigning or forcing illness in their child for attention and sympathy. 

As a baby, Gypsy Rose’s mother misdiagnosed her with sleep apnea . Later on in her life, her mother would take on to be her caretaker, saying that her daughter had leukemia and muscular dystrophy, in addition to seizures, asthma, and hearing/visual disabilities. The two were estranged from her father and other family members.

Dee Dee continued to abuse Gypsy Rose, requesting a wheelchair and feeding tube for her daughter. Gypsy Rose was also subjected to surgeries to remove her salivary glands after her mother fabricated the illusion of illness, the long-term consequences of which Gypsy Rose still suffers from to this day. Due to heavy medications, Gypsy Rose’s teeth rotted to the point of removal. To make matters worse, Dee Dee shaved off Gypsy Rose’s hair to make her condition more believable. 

Her mother continued to lie about Gypsy Rose's disabilities and her age, claiming she was the mental age of 7 in her teen years. She mismarked dates on Gypsy Rose’s birth certificate to make her age more believable. Charities built the duo a home and provided them numerous trips to concerts and Disney World. As for doctor visits, Gypsy Rose was not allowed to speak to the doctor about her condition. Instead, Dee Dee would relay information about fake medical conditions. If the doctor disagreed with Dee Dee, she would not return. 

Gypsy Rose aged into adulthood, and she longed for a relationship. In 2011, she attempted to run away with a man she met at a science convention, but her mother stopped her. The mother scolded the man, saying that he was entertaining a minor even though Gypsy Rose was 19. Gypsy Rose later confessed that her mother destroyed her computer , tied her to her bed, physically assaulted her, and denied her access to food. 

In 2015, Gypsy Rose met Nicholas Godejohn on a Christian dating site. The two ultimately connected as Blanchard revealed the abuse she was enduring. She then conspired with Nick to escape her mother so she could have freedom. In June, Nick murdered Dee Dee while Gypsy Rose hid in the bathroom. The two would celebrate Gypsy Rose’s freedom in Wisconsin, where police would later find them.

A few years later in an interview with ABC News’ 20/20 , Gypsy Rose recounted the night of her mother’s murder. “I heard her scream once and there was more screaming, but not like the kind in a horror film,” she recalled. “A startled scream…she called out my name about three or four times, at that point I wanted to go help her so bad, but I was so afraid to get up. And then everything just went quiet.” 

In Mommy Dead and Dearest , Gypsy Rose also spoke on her relationship with Nick disclosing that he had raped her the night of her mother’s death. “I made a deal with him. I'd let him rape me and then he wouldn't do that to my mom,” she said after Nick allegedly tried to have sex with her mother’s corpse.

Gypsy Rose was sentenced to 10 years in jail 

After confessing that she convinced Nick of her master plan to murder her mother, Gypsy Rose pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. She was then sentenced to 10 years of prison even after her attorney revealed the decades-long abuse she endured.  

Missouri Department of Corrections representative Karen Pojmann stated, “[Blanchard’s] 10-year sentence started in June 2015, so, barring parole violations and other extenuating circumstances, it’s expected that she’ll be on parole supervision and reporting to a parole officer until June 2025.”

Nick Godejohn’s court trial

After Gypsy Rose took a plea deal for her involvement in Dee Dee’s killing, Nick's trial began in 2018. Gypsy Rose admitted that she took the lead role in the plan to murder her mother. Nick's lawyers claimed that Nick was victimized and manipulated into committing murderous acts, and suggested that his sentence should be reduced. His legal team also cited that Nick allegedly suffered from multiple personality disorder after his arrest for masturbation in a McDonald’s restaurant while carrying a concealed weapon in 2013. 

The judge sentenced Nick to life in prison without parole in addition to 25 years for armed criminal action. He is serving out his sentence at Potosi Correctional Center. In 2022, Nick and his lawyers requested a new trial based on claims that his counsel was ineffective . The following year, his motion was denied. 

Gypsy Rose’s release from prison 

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In December, Blanchard was released from prison after serving eight years of her 10-year prison sentence. According to Springfield News-Leader , the 32-year-old was granted parole in September by the Missouri Department of Corrections. 

In an exclusive interview with People , Blanchard spoke about her release and insisted that she was “ready for freedom.” She added, “I’m ready to expand, and I think that goes for every facet of my life.” Blanchard also chimed in with the misconception about her that has been fueling the media. “No one will ever hear me say I’m proud of what I did or I’m glad that she’s dead,” Gypsy Rose told the outlet. “I’m not proud of what I did. I regret it every single day.” 

Internet Sensation 

Upon her release from prison, fans have been obsessed with Gypsy Rose’s story, empathizing with her as a victim. The Missouri native has over 6 million followers on TikTok and Instagram. Although Blanchard had an Instagram account before her release, she gained millions of supporters with her “first selfie of freedom” IG post that attracted over 6 million likes. 

Her initial post was followed by photos of glimpses inside her life, including her marriage to Ryan and snippets of her upcoming docuseries. The two connected in 2020 after Ryan penned a letter to Blanchard. “It was when Tiger King was really popular. My coworker at the time was like, ‘I want to write Tiger King [Joe Exotic].’ I said, ‘I’ll tell you what, if you write him, I’ll write Gypsy Rose Blanchard,’” he told People in an exclusive interview. Ryan had watched Blanchard’s HBO documentary, Mommy Dead and Dearest , three years before his email. 

The pair began exchanging messages back and forth. “I remember I had butterflies when we’d email. But really what set it over the top was the first time I heard her voice,” he said. Ryan and Gypsy Rose met in 2021, ultimately tying the knot in 2022. The two are planning another wedding for their family to attend. Most recently, the couple made headlines after Gypsy Rose came to her husband’s defense on Instagram.

“Ryan, don’t listen to the haters,” Gypsy Rose commented underneath a selfie of her husband . “I love you, and you love me. We do not owe anyone anything. Our family is who matters. If you get likes and good comments great, if you get hate then whatever because THEY DON’T MATTER. I love you.” She then ended her comment with a line that’s quickly gone viral over the past few days, “Besides they jealous because you are rocking my world every night…yeah I said it, the D is fire 🔥happy wife happy life.”  

Gypsy Rose’s upcoming docuseries tells her story 

In the wake of Gypsy Rose’s release, her social media has been flooded with snippets and trailers for The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard . The six-hour docuseries will premiere on Lifetime on Jan. 5. 

In the trailer, Gypsy begins to tell her story, saying, “After a lifetime of silence, I finally get to use my voice to share my story and speak my truth.” 

@gypsyroseblanchard727 #ThePrisonConfessionsOfGypsyRoseBlanchard #releasedconversationsontheeveoffreedom ♬ original sound - Gypsy Rose Blanchard

“As a survivor of relentless child abuse, this docuseries chronicles my quest for liberation and journey through self-discovery. I am unapologetically myself and unafraid to expose the hidden parts of my life that have never been revealed until now.”

Two episodes will premiere each night at 8 p.m. ET from Jan. 5 to Jan. 7. Fans can catch the show live on Lifetime or the following day on Lifetime.com. As for streaming, residents with DirectTV Stream, Sling TV, Fubo TV, and Hulu + Live TV extension can tune in. 

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Who is Gypsy Rose Blanchard? What to know about the bizarre case as she is released from jail

Blanchard's story sparked national tabloid interest when reports first emerged of her mother's death in 2015, but the bizarre case gained renewed attention when it became the subject of several documentary series, by associated press and nbc chicago staff • published december 28, 2023 • updated on december 28, 2023 at 3:35 pm.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard , the woman who persuaded an online boyfriend to kill her mother after she had forced her to pretend for years that she was suffering from leukemia, muscular dystrophy and other serious illnesses, was released Thursday from prison on parole.

Blanchard's story sparked national tabloid interest when reports first emerged of her mother's death in 2015, but the bizarre case gained renewed attention when it became the subject of several documentary series.

Watch 24/7 free news online with NBC 5 Chicago’s stream

Now, she's been released from prison early.

Here's a look at the case and how it unfolded:

Who is Gypsy Rose Blanchard?

Gypsy Rose Blanchard is a Missouri woman who convinced her online boyfriend to kill her mother after she suffered years of abuse.

At age 23, Blanchard had her mother, Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard, killed after the mother essentially held her daughter prisoner, forcing her to use a wheelchair and feeding tube.

It turned out that Gypsy Blanchard, now 32, was perfectly healthy, not developmentally delayed as her friends had always believed. Her mother had Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a psychological disorder in which parents or caregivers seek sympathy through the exaggerated or made-up illnesses of their children, said her trial attorney, Michael Stanfield.

Gypsy Rose was subjected to years of unnecessary medical treatment and abuse, which she testified during the trial is what pushed her to suggest that Nicholas Godejohn, her then boyfriend, should kill Dee Dee. 

What happened to Gypsy Rose Blanchard?

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Blanchard was taken to doctors throughout her life to receive treatment for conditions such as leukemia and muscular dystrophy that she did not actually have. According to the Springfield News-Leader, Blanchard's mother forced her to use both a wheelchair and an oxygen tank although she required neither.

Stanfield said Gypsy Blanchard's mother was able to dupe doctors by telling them her daughter's medical records had been lost in Hurricane Katrina. If they asked too many questions, she just found a new physician, shaving the girl's head to back up her story. Among the unnecessary procedures Gypsy Blanchard underwent was the removal of her salivary glands. Her mother convinced doctors it was necessary by using topical anesthetic to cause drooling.

“Essentially Gypsy’s mother was holding her a prisoner,” Stanfield said. “Her mother would not allow her to spend any time alone with any other human being. Her mother, when they went to the doctor, did all the talking.”

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Through the ruse, the mother and daughter met country star Miranda Lambert and received charitable donations, a trip to Disney World and even a home near Springfield from Habitat for Humanity.

Gypsy Blanchard, who had little schooling or contact with anyone but her mother, also was misled, especially when she was younger, Stanfield said.

“The doctors seem to confirm everything that you’re being told. The outside world is telling you that your mother is a wonderful, loving, caring person. What other idea can you have?” Stanfield said.

But then the abuse became more physical, Stanfield said. Gypsy testified that her mother beat her and chained her to a bed. Slowly, Gypsy also was beginning to understand that she wasn’t as sick as her mom said.

The truth about her health — and the abuse she is believed to have suffered — was suspected by some but not entirely exposed until after her mother's murder.

How did Blanchard's mother die?

Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard was stabbed to death in June 2015 by Gypsy Rose Blanchard's boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, of Big Bend, Wisconsin.

Who was Nicholas Godejohn?

Gypsy Rose Blanchard said she met Godejohn on a Christian dating website in 2012 and that they carried out a secret relationship, including in text messages that prosecutors read in Godejohn’s trial.

Prosecutors argued that Godejohn plotted for more than a year before he stabbed Clauddine Blanchard. His attorneys argued that he is autistic and therefore does not have the mental capabilities required for premeditation.

Gypsy said she first met Godejohn in person in March 2015, when he visited from Wisconsin. In text messages presented in his trial, Godejohn and Gypsy generally discussed love, sex and planning a life together — until June 2015, when they began discussing needing duct tape and knives in the days before Clauddine Blanchard was killed. Godejohn and Gypsy often referred to each other’s darker impulses, with Godejohn’s discussing his “evil side” that he said “enjoys killing.” Gypsy’s darker side was called “Ruby” in the texts.

Clauddine Blanchard’s body was found after her friends noticed a post on her Facebook page stating, “That (expletive) is dead.”

When she took the stand at his trial, Gypsy Blanchard said “I talked him into it.”

“Nick was so in love with her and so obsessed with her that he would do anything,” Godejohn’s trial attorney Dewayne Perry argued in court, saying his client has autism and was manipulated.

Prosecutors, however,  argued that he was motivated by sex  and a desire to be with Gypsy Blanchard.

According to the probable cause statement, Gypsy Blanchard supplied the knife and hid in a bathroom while Godejohn repeatedly stabbed her mother. The two ultimately made their way by bus to Wisconsin, where they were arrested.

“Things are not always as they appear,” said Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott  as the strange revelations began to emerge .

When did Gypsy Rose go to prison and when was she released?

Prosecutors cut her a deal because of the abuse she had endured. In exchange for pleading guilty in 2016 to  second-degree murder , she was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2016. The first-degree murder charge she initially faced would have meant a life term.

Godejohn is now serving a life sentence for his role in the killing.

Blanchard was released from Chillicothe Correctional Center in Chillicothe, Missouri, on Thursday, three years before her original release date.

She served seven years and was released on Thursday after being granted parole.

What did Gypsy Rose Blanchard say about her release?

"I'm ready for freedom," Blanchard told PEOPLE in an exclusive interview prior to her early release. "I'm ready to expand and I think that goes for every facet of my life."

But Blanchard said she remains remorseful.

"No one will ever hear me say I'm proud of what I did or I'm glad that she's dead," she told PEOPLE. "I'm not proud of what I did. I regret it every single day."

What is Factious Disorder Imposed on Another and Munchausen syndrome by proxy?

Factious Disorder Imposed on Another (FDIA)  formerly known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy, is when someone falsely claims that another person has physical or psychological signs or symptoms of illness , or causes injury or disease in another person with the intention of deceiving others, according to the Mayo Clinic.

This disorder usually involves a parent claiming a child is in need of medical care that is in fact unnecessary.

The disorder may be caused by a combination of psychological factors and stressful life experiences, including childhood trauma, serious childhood illness, loss of a loved one, or other conditions.

Munchausen syndrome  is a mental health disorder where you falsify, exaggerate, or induce physical, emotional or cognitive disorders, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

What else should you know about the case?

Greene County Prosecutor Dan Patterson described it as “one of the most extraordinary and unusual cases we have seen.”

Stanfield recalled that the first time he met Gypsy, she got out of breath walking the 75 yards (69 meters) from the elevator to the room where he talked to her. He described her as malnourished and physically frail.

“I can honestly say I’ve rarely had a client who looks exceedingly better after doing a fairly long prison sentence," Stanfield said. "Prison is generally not a place where you become happy and healthy. And I say that because, to me, that’s kind of the evidence to the rest of the world as to just how bad what Gypsy was going through really was.”

Gypsy Blanchard later said it wasn’t until her arrest that she realized how healthy she was. But it took time. Eventually, she got married while behind bars to Ryan Scott Anderson, now 37, of Saint Charles, Louisiana.

The bizarre case was the subject of the 2017 HBO documentary “Mommy Dead and Dearest,” the 2019 Hulu miniseries “The Act" and an upcoming Lifetime docuseries “The Prison Confession of Gypsy Rose Blanchard.” Daytime television psychologist “Dr. Phil” McGraw interviewed her from prison. The novel “Darling Rose Gold" draws upon the story for its premise and Blanchard's own account, “Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom” is set for publication next month.

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Who is Gypsy Rose Blanchard?

The viral victim of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, who spent eight years in prison, has recently been released

In just the first week of the new year, an unlikely new social-media star has emerged: Gypsy Rose Blanchard, a 32-year-old Missouri woman who persuaded her then-boyfriend to kill her mother in 2015, after years of suffering abuse as a victim of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.

Blanchard was recently released from prison after serving an eight-year sentence and has written a book about her experience. A new documentary series, The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard , airing on Lifetime in the US, also charts her incredible story. It's not the first time Blanchard's life has received the TV treatment, either: it was the subject of Hulu’s 2019 miniseries The Act (starring Patricia Arquette and Joey King) and the HBO documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest in 2017.

But who is Gypsy Rose Blanchard, what happened to her, and why has she been released? Here's everything you need to know about this dark, headline-grabbing tale.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard's early life

Born in Louisiana in 1991, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was raised solely by her mother, who was known by family and friends as Dee Dee. When Gypsy Rose was three months old, Dee Dee told doctors that her daughter didn’t seem to be breathing properly; consequently, she was diagnosed with sleep apnoea and given breathing apparatus. Dee Dee, however, was convinced that something else was wrong.

When Gypsy Rose was seven, Dee Dee met with her extended family and told them that her daughter had a chromosomal disorder, meaning that her range of motion was limited and that she would have to use a wheelchair for the rest of her life. After that, the health troubles seemed endless: Gypsy Rose needed a feeding tube; she suffered from leukemia; she was then diagnosed with epilepsy and prescribed a drug that made her teeth crumble. Dee Dee often clashed with her family over her daughter's care and, one night, the pair left the family home suddenly, leaving no forwarding address.

What is Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy?

It's now widely accepted that Blanchard was a victim of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy – a mental illness and a form of child abuse, where a parent either makes up fake symptoms or causes real symptoms to make it look like their child is ill.

The hospital visits grew exponentially . Dee Dee claimed Gypsy Rose was suffering from seizures, asthma, and hearing and visual impairments, and she went through a litany of surgeries, including procedures on her eyes and removal of her salivary glands. Her teeth were pulled out. Yet the truth was that the young girl could walk, didn't need a feeding tube, and didn't have cancer. Her head was bald only because her mother shaved off her hair.

Medical tests often showed inconclusive or contradictory results regarding Gypsy Rose's diagnoses, but Dee Dee would stop seeing any doctors who questioned her daughter’s illnesses. Dee Dee had some nurse's training, so she could accurately describe symptoms, and she sometimes gave Gypsy Rose medication to mimic certain conditions.

How did Gypsy Rose meet Nicholas Godejohn?

In 2013, Gypsy Rose created a profile on a site called Christiandatingforfree.com and soon met a man called Nicholas Godejohn, with whom she fell head over heels in love after just a few conversations.

Online communication intensified between Godejohn and Blanchard and, in order to hide their relationship from Dee Dee, they shared a private Facebook page where they could post messages for one another. Godejohn kept angling for an in-person meeting but Blanchard was terrified – what would he think when he saw her in her wheelchair? Finally, she confessed the truth: that she didn't need a wheelchair, and her mother forced her to use it.

Godejohn and Blanchard met in person in early 2015 for a screening of Cinderella at a local Missouri cinema. Gypsy Rose went with her mother and planned the rendezvous to look as if she was just meeting Godejohn for the first time; then, they snuck away to consummate the relationship in the bathroom. When her daughter reappeared, Dee Dee was furious and forbade her from ever seeing Godejohn again.

When did the pair kill Dee Dee?

After the Cinderella screening, Dee Dee tightened her control over her daughter, which led to Gypsy Rose and Nick hatching what they called 'Plan B': to kill Dee Dee on 12 June, 2015.

Blanchard claims that Godejohn entered their house late that night, and she handed him blue gloves and giant serrated knife. Afterwards, he texted her to "get your ass to the bathroom", and she claims she obeyed, crouching on the floor, listening to Dee Dee being brutally stabbed next door.

Blanchard and Godejohn returned to his home in Wisconsin, where they were found by police. Gypsy Rose had twice posted to the Facebook account she shared with her mother, once writing: "That b*tch is dead!" She later explained she made the posts because she wanted her mother’s body to be discovered.

What jail time did the pair receive?

In 2016, Blanchard took a plea deal and received a 10-year sentence for the crime of second-degree murder. Prosecutor Dan Patterson cited her medical and physical abuse as being a huge mitigator, and the reason for receiving such an unusually light sentence.

When she first arrived at the Greene County Jail, she was sent to the infirmary to determine what treatment she might need for her epilepsy and other illnesses, but the doctor gave her a clean bill of health. Godejohn was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2018 and was sentenced to life in prison.

What's the latest on the story?

On 28 December 2023, Blanchard was released after serving 85 per cent of her sentence. Since then, she has become an overnight star on Instagram and TikTok , with 6.5 million and 6.6 million followers respectively.

Though the social-media accounts were created in the months prior to her release – to promote The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard docuseries – Blanchard gained the most attention with her " first selfie of freedom ". The photo shows the now-32-year-old posing in a mirror with a long ponytail pulled over her shoulder, and it received thousands of comments.

Blanchard also shared a photo with her new husband, Ryan Scott Anderson, who she married while behind bars, captioned: "A New Years Eve Eve kiss with my hubby". Anderson and Blanchard first started writing to each other in 2020, and married in 2022.

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Who Is Gypsy Rose Blanchard?

By CT Jones

Gypsy Rose Blanchard , the abuse victim who spent seven years incarcerated for her role in the murder of her mother, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, became a free woman on Thursday, leaving prison on parole. 

Her release comes three years early after she was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her second-degree murder conviction. During her 2016 trial, Gypsy, now 32, pleaded guilty to conspiring with her boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn to murder Dee Dee and then escape to Wisconsin together. Attorneys for Gypsy acknowledged her role in Dee Dee’s death but revealed that the now 32-year-old, who spent most of her childhood wheelchair-bound, suffered years of emotional and physical abuse from her mother — who experts believed was suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy — creating a complex legal situation. 

Why Did Gypsy Rose Blanchard go to prison?

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In an interview in the HBO Documentary Mommy Dearest , Gypsy detailed that her burgeoning relationship with Godejohn quickly became sexual in nature, including explorations of BDSM, sexual video calls, and sending nude photos. “I am embracing my role and duitys [sp],” she wrote in a Facebook status update at the time. “I live and breath to serve my Master.” She also often posed in different characters, named Kitty the little girl, and Ruby the evil vixen — girlfriends meant to complement Godejohn’s alleged multiple personal disorder. 

The two also spoke about Gypsy’s relationship with her mother, and the young woman’s desire to escape her controlling household. The two fantasized about a plan to kill Dee Dee and run away, which they referred to as “Plan B,” according to Gypsy. The plan was considered hypothetical but quickly became real when Gypsy became “desperate” to leave. 

What happened the night of Dee Dee Blanchard’s murder?

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In an exclusive interview with People leading up to her release, Gypsy told the news site she feels remorse about the death of her mother. “If I had another chance to redo everything, I don’t know if I would go back to when I was a child and tell my aunts and uncles that I’m not sick and mommy makes me sick,” Gypsy said, “or, if I would travel back to just the point of that conversation with Nick and tell him, ‘You know what, I’m going to go tell the police everything.’ I kind of struggle with that. Nobody will ever hear me say I’m glad she’s dead or I’m proud of what I did. I regret it every single day.”

“She didn’t deserve that,” Gypsy Rose added. “She was a sick woman and unfortunately I wasn’t educated enough to see that. She deserved to be where I am, sitting in prison doing time for criminal behavior.”

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Gypsy-Rose Blanchard

American convicted of murder (born 1991) / from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Gypsy-Rose Alcida Blanchard (born July 27, 1991) is an American woman convicted of second-degree murder in Springfield, Missouri for the death of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard . She was sentenced to ten years in prison. [1]

She was paroled after eight years, at the end of December 2023. [2] Given the sensational aspects of Gypsy's childhood, she gained widespread media attention. Hulu produced a limited series, The Act (2019), released while she was still in prison. She has been featured on interviews on a variety of TV shows, and other programs have been based on her story.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard had her mother killed. Now free, what’s her story?

Blanchard has been released early on parole after she convinced her online boyfriend to kill her abusive mother.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard, a woman who conspired to kill her mother and pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree murder in 2015, was released from the Chillicothe Correctional Center, Missouri, on parole on Thursday.

She was in prison after she persuaded her online boyfriend to murder her mother, who had been abusive. Blanchard’s case – which spawned a popular crime drama, a documentary, a book and more – also drew widespread attention to a condition known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy, which her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard is believed to have suffered from.

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Secrets of the clergy, us, uk push against child abuse online alarms asia dissidents, us mum who gave parenting advice on youtube charged with child abuse.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard, 32, has served 85 percent of her original sentence and was released after eight years instead of the initially determined 10.

Here is what there is to know:

What happened to Gypsy Rose Blanchard?

Blanchard’s case drew widespread attention globally after she was portrayed by American actress Joey King in a television series called The Act – a vexing retelling of Blanchard’s life.

A scene from the 2019 show that captures her story shows King as Blanchard, with a shaved head, glasses and a gummy smile revealing extracted teeth.

Wearing her huge glasses and pink pyjamas from the kids’ section, Blanchard is crouching over a laptop within the coldness of her room. She cautiously looks behind her to make sure no one is watching her, and looks back at the laptop screen, smiling.

She is secretly making a Facebook account but when the time comes to enter her birth date and year, she is confused. Her mother told her she was born in 1995. Wait no, 1993. This uncertainty brings her to snoop through her mother’s belongings and find her birth certificate which reads “1991”. She looks at her sleeping mother, betrayed.

Her age was not the only thing her mother had lied to her about. Blanchard’s mother, Clauddine (Dee Dee) Blanchard had convinced her daughter and several doctors that Blanchard had several disabilities including muscular dystrophy, epilepsy, leukaemia and vision impairment. Blanchard has none of these illnesses and to this day remains physically and psychologically healthy.

Due to her mother’s claims, Blanchard was prescribed several medications and underwent many medical procedures including eye surgery and surgery to remove her salivary glands. Her mother also claimed Blanchard required a wheelchair and feeding tube.

Blanchard’s mother got away with this by claiming she and her daughter were hit by Hurricane Katrina , which compromised her medical history. She would also not revisit doctors who questioned her.

What is Munchausen by proxy?

Michael Stanfield, Gypsy Blanchard’s trial lawyer, has said that her mother had Munchausen syndrome by proxy. While no formal diagnosis was ever made while Dee Dee was alive, other independent experts too have said that they believe she had the condition.

Munchausen syndrome is a psychological condition where an individual deliberately produces symptoms of illness to draw care and attention to themselves.

When it is by proxy, the individual produces these symptoms for a relative instead of themselves. Parents or caregivers might seek sympathy through the exaggerated or made-up illnesses of their children. It is also known as factitious disorder imposed on another and is relatively uncommon.

How did Gypsy convince her boyfriend to kill her mother?

As Blanchard grew older, her mother’s physical abuse intensified and she began to question whether she was actually sick.

She then met Nicholas Godejohn on a Christian dating website and three years later, the two devised a plan to kill Blanchard’s mother. Godejohn visited Blanchard’s house and stabbed Blanchard’s mother to death with a knife supplied by Blanchard, who was hiding in the bathroom.

The two then made their way by bus to Wisconsin, where they were arrested in June 2015.

Blanchard pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2016 after confessing that she convinced Godejohn to stab her mother. At Godejohn’s 2018 trial, she said “I talked him into it.”

Godejohn is serving a life sentence. “Nick was so in love with her and so obsessed with her that he would do anything,” Godejohn’s trial lawyer Dewayne Perry argued in court, saying his client has autism and was manipulated.

Blanchard told People magazine that she regrets what she did.

Gypsy’s time in jail

Blanchard looks completely different now from when she lived with her mother. Her hair has grown and she walks without a wheelchair.

“I can honestly say I’ve rarely had a client who looks exceedingly better after doing a fairly long prison sentence ,” Stanfield said.

“Prison is generally not a place where you become happy and healthy. And I say that because, to me, that’s kind of the evidence to the rest of the world as to just how bad what Gypsy was going through really was.”

Besides The Act, Blanchard’s case resulted in an HBO documentary, a book and an upcoming docuseries.

In September, it was confirmed that Blanchard was granted parole.

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Gypsy Rose Blanchard released from prison for 2015 murder of her mother

Blanchard persuaded her boyfriend to kill her mother, who forced her to use a wheelchair and a feeding tube for years

Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the Missouri woman who persuaded an online boyfriend to kill her mother after she had forced her to pretend for years that she was suffering from leukemia, muscular dystrophy and other serious illnesses, was released on Thursday from prison on parole.

Blanchard was released early in the day from the Chillicothe correctional center, said Karen Pojmann, a spokesperson for the Missouri department of corrections. Blanchard was granted parole after serving 85% of her original sentence, Pojmann said.

Blanchard’s case sparked national tabloid interest after reports emerged that her mother, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, who was slain in 2015, had essentially kept her daughter prisoner, forcing her to use a wheelchair and feeding tube.

It turned out that Gypsy Rose Blanchard, now 32, was perfectly healthy, not developmentally delayed as her friends had always believed. Her mother had Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a psychological disorder in which parents or caregivers seek sympathy through the exaggerated or made-up illnesses of their children, said Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s trial attorney, Michael Stanfield.

“People were constantly telling Dee Dee what a wonderful mother she was, and Dee Dee was getting all of this attention,” he said.

Through the ruse, the mother and daughter met country star Miranda Lambert and received charitable donations, a trip to Disney World and even a home near Springfield from Habitat for Humanity.

Stanfield said Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s mother was able to dupe doctors by telling them her daughter’s medical records had been lost in Hurricane Katrina. If they asked too many questions, she just found a new physician, shaving the girl’s head to back up her story. Among the unnecessary procedures Gypsy Rose Blanchard underwent was the removal of her salivary glands. Her mother convinced doctors it was necessary by using topical anesthetic to cause drooling.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who had little schooling or contact with anyone but her mother, also was misled, especially when she was younger, Stanfield said.

“The doctors seem to confirm everything that you’re being told. The outside world is telling you that your mother is a wonderful, loving, caring person. What other idea can you have?” Stanfield said.

But then the abuse became more physical, Stanfield said. Gypsy testified that her mother beat her and chained her to a bed. Slowly, Gypsy also was beginning to understand that she wasn’t as sick as her mother said.

“I wanted to be free of her hold on me,” Gypsy testified at the 2018 trial of her former boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn of Big Bend, Wisconsin, who is serving a life sentence in the killing. She went on to add: “I talked him into it.”

When she took the stand at his trial, prosecutors already had cut her a deal because of the abuse she had endured. In exchange for pleading guilty in 2016 to second-degree murder , she was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The first-degree murder charge she initially faced would have meant a life term.

“Nick was so in love with her and so obsessed with her that he would do anything,” Godejohn’s trial attorney, Dewayne Perry, argued in court, saying his client has autism and was manipulated.

Prosecutors, however, argued that he was motivated by sex and a desire to be with Gypsy Rose Blanchard, whom he met on a Christian dating website.

According to the probable cause statement, Gypsy Rose Blanchard supplied the knife and hid in a bathroom while Godejohn stabbed her mother. The two ultimately made their way by bus to Wisconsin, where they were arrested. She has been incarcerated since then at a state women’s prison in Chillicothe.

Even Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s age was a lie. Her mother had said she was younger to make it easier to perpetuate the fraud, and got away with it because Gypsy was so small: just 4ft 11in (150cm) tall.

Law enforcement was initially so confused that the original court documents listed three different ages for her, with the youngest being 19. She was 23.

Stanfield recalled that the first time he met Gypsy Rose Blanchard, she got out of breath walking the 75 yards (69 meters) from the elevator to the room where he talked to her. He described her as malnourished and physically frail.

“I can honestly say I’ve rarely had a client who looks exceedingly better after doing a fairly long prison sentence,” Stanfield said. “And I say that because, to me, that’s kind of the evidence to the rest of the world as to just how bad what Gypsy was going through really was.”

Gypsy Rose Blanchard later said it wasn’t until her arrest that she realized how healthy she was. But it took time. Eventually, she got married while behind bars to Ryan Scott Anderson, now 37, of Saint Charles, Louisiana.

The case was the subject of the 2017 HBO documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest, the 2019 Hulu miniseries The Act and an upcoming Lifetime docuseries, The Prison Confession of Gypsy Rose Blanchard.

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6 documentaries and shows about Gypsy Rose Blanchard to watch

In the months since Gypsy Rose Blanchard was released from prison, she has managed to become a rising star on social media and reality television.

Blanchard has been enjoying her freedom since being granted parole after serving a 10-year sentence for her role in the plot to kill her mother Claudine “Dee Dee” Blanchard. Prior to her early release in December 2023, she was in prison for seven years.

On Dec. 31, 2023, she shared a video on her now-deleted Instagram account celebrating her parole. “Hey everyone, this is Gypsy,” she said. “I’m finally free!”

While she was incarcerated, multiple documentaries and shows detailing the unusual circumstances of her case aired. Blanchard is thought to be a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a psychological disorder in which a caretaker purposefully makes someone sick. In 2015, Blanchard's then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, stabbed her mother to death while she hid in another room.

Godejohn was sentenced to life in prison without parole , and Blanchard is now a free woman.

Blanchard plans to open up more about her life after regaining her freedom in upcoming shows and documentaries. Read on to learn about the several series and films that unpack Blanchard's turbulent story.

'The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard'

The latest documentary about Blanchard, "The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard ," takes viewers inside Chillicothe Correctional Center in Chillicothe, Missouri, as Blanchard served the end of her prison sentence.

She said she will “share (her) story the way that it should be shared,” per a  sneak peak released by Lifetime .

The six-episode series features interviews with Blanchard in the days ahead of her parole hearing, as well as interviews with her father , stepmom, sister, doctors and officials involved in the case.

In addition to discussing her plot with Godejohn to kill her mother, Blanchard gives insight into her childhood and how her mother faked her illnesses.

She also speaks about her husband Ryan Scott Anderson, whom she married while imprisoned in 2022, according to a copy of their marriage license obtained by TODAY.com.

Blanchard was granted parole and released from prison on Dec. 28, 2022, three years before her scheduled release date, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections.

All six episodes of "The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard" are currently streaming on Lifetime.

'Mommy Dead and Dearest'

In "Mommy Dead and Dearest," director Erin Lee Carr uses home videos plus interviews with Gypsy Rose Blanchard and her family members to show how Dee Dee Blanchard deceived medical providers and more to fake her daughter's illnesses.

The HBO documentary then transitions into how Blanchard plotted with Godejohn to kill her mother, before going into the details of the night of her murder. The film shows the aftermath of the slaying, concluding with Godejohn and Blanchard's prison sentences.

"Mommy Dead and Dearest" is available to watch on Max .

"The Act" is a dramatized true-crime take on Blanchard's case, starring Joey King as Gypsy Rose .

The 2019 limited series depicts how Dee Dee (Patricia Arquette) was able to manipulate those around her, and her eventual murder. Arquette's portrayal won her an Emmy for outstanding supporting actress and a Golden Globe for best supporting actress.

The show’s co-creator Nick Antosca went on to create “Candy,” a dramatized version of the case of Candy Montgomery , and “A Friend of the Family,” a dramatized take on Robert Berchtold and his abductions of Jan Broberg .

"The Act" is available to stream on Hulu .

'Gypsy's Revenge'

Investigation Discovery's 2018 documentary explores exactly how Dee Dee Blanchard was able to fool medical providers about her daughter's alleged illnesses for so long.

Director Jesse Vile speaks with Dr. Bernardo Flasterstein, a pediatric neurologist who treated Blanchard but did not recognize her as a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, in an attempt to find answers.

Godejohn is also interviewed in the film, as well as others close to the case. Viewers can watch "Gypsy's Revenge" on Discovery Plus , Hulu with a premium subscription or Investigation Discovery with cable.

'Gypsy Rose and Nick: A Love to Kill For'

Godejohn gave his first post-sentencing interview in this 2019 Oxygen documentary.

Among other revelations, Godejohn shared that he regrets murdering Dee Dee Blanchard.  “If I had to change anything at all, of course, one of the obvious ones is that I would’ve ran away with Gypsy. I don’t want to be staying with a murder on my hands. Being labeled as a killer … I don’t want to stay with that, but I’ll live with it,” he said.

Viewers can catch this episode of " Snapped: Killer Couples" on Peacock .

'Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up'

"You know my story. Now let's see what I do with my life," Blanchard says in the first few seconds of the teaser for her upcoming Lifetime series, "Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up."

The trailer cuts to Blanchard strolling around with husband Ryan Scott Anderson as fans approach her and ask for photos. "Everybody's just gone Gypsy crazy," she says in a voiceover.

But not everyone has been supportive of her past. She reveals that she is also receiving death threats on social media.

The teaser then shows Blanchard spending time with her family and later visiting a doctor to discuss changing her nose. She appears to battle some marriage struggles, too.

"I don't want to lose my wife. I love her," Anderson tearfully tells the cameras.

Blanchard, on the other hand, doesn't seem as confident in their relationship and expresses concerns about not being happy. "Eventually, I'm gonna want a divorce," she says at point.

When a check in with her parole officer doesn't go well, Blanchard hits her breaking point. "I feel like I am in a different form of prison," she shares.

Her Lifetime series will premiere Monday, June 3 at 9 p.m. ET.

Anna Kaplan is a news and trending reporter for TODAY.com.

Ariana Brockington is a trending news reporter at TODAY digital. She is based in Los Angeles.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard

From medical mystery to murderer.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard Was a Medical Mystery. A Failure of Science Made Her a Murderer.

How the dark dynamics of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy had devastating consequences for a mother and daughter.

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Lately, you’ve probably seen Gypsy Rose Blanchard all over magazine covers, daytime talk shows, and social media feeds. But she isn’t newly renowned for, say, being a burgeoning pop star. She hasn’t achieved some great feat of athleticism, or broken out in a star-making role in a prestige movie. The inciting incident that put the 32-year-old on America’s radar, drew millions of followers to her TikTok account , prompted Lifetime to rush out a multi-part docuseries , and sent Penguin Random House to snap up her memoir isn’t a traditional rags-to-riches chapter in a rise-to-fame story.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard is famous for being a convicted murderer.

Of course, despite being convicted of second-degree murder for the death of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard , and serving 8 years of her 10-year sentence for the charge, to which she pleaded guilty, Blanchard herself recently stated that she doesn’t agree with that label. As she recently admitted on The Viall Files podcast , “When they say I’m a murderer, I don’t identify as that.”

And Blanchard isn’t the only person who feels that way.

Neither Blanchard, nor her many fans and defenders, deny that she was involved in her mother’s death. The official story of the murder plot itself, according to Biography , is not in dispute:

“{Gypsy} joined a Christian dating site, where she met Nicholas Godejohn. She told him the truth about her mother’s actions and ended up asking him to kill Dee Dee so they could be together. In June 2015, he came to her house and stabbed Dee Dee while Gypsy waited, ears covered, in the bathroom.”

At first blush, the planned murder of Dee Dee Blanchard might have seemed no different than other famed cases of familicide, be it the Twilight Killers , the Richardson Family murders , or perhaps the most famous case, the Starkweather homicides .

But it was the revelations regarding Gypsy Rose’s “truth about her mother’s actions” that shocked—and elicited sympathy from—the public. Understanding the circumstances, and the systemic failures, that led to Dee Dee’s murder requires grappling with a complex form of child abuse that goes by several names, including the most common in our contemporary media: “Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.”

What Is Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy?

In the foreword to Sickened: The True Story of a Lost Childhood , a 2003 memoir by author Julie Gregory, Dr. Marc Feldman begins by noting that, “Munchausen by Proxy may be the single most complex—and lethal—form of maltreatment known today.” Feldman, a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association who has written several books on the subject, explains Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MBP) in his foreword as:

“It is formally defined as the falsification or induction of physical and/or emotional illness by a caretaker of a dependent person. In most cases, the perpetrator is a mother and the victim is her own child.”

Feldman wrote that foreword, which also notes that most cases of MBP “go unreported—indeed, entirely undetected—due to the covert nature of the maltreatment,” more than a decade before Dee Dee Blanchard’s murder , and before the public became fascinated with Gypsy Rose through the 2017 documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest (in which Feldman appears as an expert).

Gypsy Rose, who was born in 1991, was a baby when Dee Dee claimed her daughter had sleep apnea. “When Gypsy was 8 years old,” Biography reports, “Dee Dee described her as suffering from leukemia and muscular dystrophy and said she required a wheelchair and feeding tube. The list of medical problems that Dee Dee related about her daughter would go on to include seizures, asthma, and hearing and visual impairments.”

Though MBP is far more in the vernacular today than it had been when Gregory and Blanchard were being subjected to their respected abuses, it’s not as though it was unknown. The term “Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy” was first used by Roy Meadow in The Lancet in 1977 to describe “parents who, by falsification, caused their children innumerable harmful hospital procedures” as “a sort of Munchausen Syndrome by proxy.”

In choosing to incorporate the words “Munchausen Syndrome” in his labeling of this specific form of child abuse, Meadow was evoking the more well-known form of fictitious illness, Munchausen Syndrome.

First identified by Richard Asher in 1951 , Munchausen Syndrome was coined to describe individuals who either fabricate medical conditions, or go so far as to commit acts of self-harm to induce symptoms of real illnesses. In trying to define this issue, Asher wrote:

“Here is described a common syndrome which most doctors have seen, but about which little has been written. Like the famous Baron von Munchausen, the persons affected have always travelled widely; and their stories, like those attributed to him, are both dramatic and untruthful. Accordingly the syndrome is respectfully dedicated to the Baron, and named after him.”

Though in 1951, Asher chose to name his described syndrome after the “famous” Baron von Munchausen—specifically the fictional German nobleman character created by writer Rudolf Erich Raspe, not the real Hieronymus Karl Friedrich von Münchhausen that the character was lampooning—by the end of the 20th century, the syndrome itself was easily more well-known than its namesake.

For example, on April 19, 1983, more than 9 million viewers tuned in to an episode of the NBC medical drama St. Elsewhere titled, “Baron von Munchausen,” wherein a patient fabricated their illnesses for attention.

What Do We Get Wrong About Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy?

It’s easy to see why a syndrome that involves fictitious ailments would be fodder for many fiction writers in the 20th century, just as it’s easy to understand why Asher, and therefore Meadow, sought to associate their discovered syndromes with the fantastical fabulist namesake of Raspe’s novel. But in the flurry of all that fiction, we can lose sight of the very real harm that can be wrought upon the children treated for those “fictitious” diseases.

Consider again what Gypsy Rose Blanchard endured at the hands of her mother in the name of “caregiving,” from Biography :

“Gypsy was prescribed a litany of medications and had to sleep using a breathing machine. She also went through multiple surgeries, including procedures on her eyes and removal of her salivary glands. When Gypsy’s teeth rotted—perhaps due to her medications, missing salivary glands, or neglect—they were pulled out.”

These gruesome images of neglect and unnecessary surgeries tend to fall by the wayside of our imaginations, as a term like “Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy” conjures images of wild-eyed patients on TV shows and fanciful Barons. That’s why many experts tend to favor other terms that more directly address the fallout of this syndrome, including terms like “Medical Child Abuse (MCA)” or “Fabricated or Induced Illness by Carers (FII).”

“When being interviewed about this form of abuse, I tend to use whatever term the interviewer uses, rather than drag them through the nomenclature debate,” Feldman tells Popular Mechanics . “By far, the term ‘MBP’ is best known among the general public and even among health care professionals, so I use it freely. But it is opaque. It tells you nothing about the maltreatment itself.”

Feldman says he prefers to use “Medical Child Abuse” instead of “Munchausen by Proxy.” “MCA has drawbacks, for sure,” he says, “...but emphasizes that this is a form of abuse, not a mental illness that someone ‘suffers from’ or ‘has’; that it involves the world of health care; that children are usual victims; and that it is very clearly a type of abuse.”

The use of MBP ultimately leads to one of the biggest public misunderstandings about the syndrome, Feldman says: “that MBP is a mental illness or personality defect.”

“That’s why judges all over the country are ordering psychological assessments to ‘see’ if someone has Munchausen by Proxy,” he says. “It is like ordering psychological testing to see if a father ‘has sexual abuse’ or ‘suffers from sexual abuse.’ The MBP term should always be followed by the word ‘abuse’ when it is used, but I still prefer MCA, which is so explicitly a form of maltreatment and nothing else.”

How Medical Science Fails Victims of Medical Child Abuse

Perpetrators of Medical Child Abuse can find many ways to get medical treatments for their children in order to garner sympathy for themselves. As was described in The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard , Dee Dee Blanchard had “a stolen prescription pad, which allowed Dee Dee to abuse Gypsy without even needing to rely on a doctor.” Dee Dee would also falsify documents pertaining to her daughter’s age.

But experts say the most common way these abusers manage to subject their children to needless treatments is by merely working within the medical system, and convincing medical professionals to do what they asked. Dee Dee Blanchard took advantage of situations, like claiming Gypsy’s medical documentation was lost in Hurricane Katrina, in order to convince doctors to take her word for it, and using her nursing training to describe, or even elicit, symptoms in her daughter.

Persuasion, in cases of MCA, can go a long way. As Julie Gregory describes in her memoir, her own mother had “ convinced a cardiologist ” to make Julie undergo cardiac catheterization.

How do medical professionals manage to so often miss MCA, and even allow themselves to be accessories to it?

“The period between the start of abuse and its discovery can be long—if it ever occurs at all,” Feldman tells PopMech . “Several barriers can delay the timely detection and confirmation of MCA,” he says, including—but not limited to—these:

• Failure to even consider MCA as a possible diagnosis.
• A lack of knowledge about MCA on the part of health care professionals.
• The tendency of the provider to believe the history the caregiver provides, even when it seems dubious. “This is especially true if the provider hasn’t reviewed any health records or spoken to prior health care professionals,” says Feldman.
• The ability of the caregiver to present a highly persuasive and compelling history. “Doctors are taught throughout their training to rely on what patients and family members say,” Feldman says, “and this contributes to their often being unduly credulous.”
• The involvement of several providers, often in different settings and sometimes different cities, regions, or even countries. “This is called doctor-shopping or hospital-shopping, and providers may not know anything about it because of the lack in the U.S. of a centralized health care database for patients,” says Feldman.
• Fear of making a false accusation (or even a true one) and its subsequent legal repercussions. Feldman says perpetrators routinely run to the media, government officials, and crusading lawyers when an accusation arises, even though doctors don’t make the final decision about the form the child protection will take—judges do.
• A lack of collaboration or poor relationships among medical, legal, and child protection agencies, along with providers’ reluctance to become involved in a child protective case. “Many of them don’t make reports to the authorities despite the laws in all 50 states that mandate reports of reasonable suspicions of abuse—even without definitive proof,” says Feldman.
• Reluctance to admit the possibility that the professionals have been fooled. “They avoid thinking about the fact that their treatments—which can include surgery—were unwarranted,” he says.

Several of these barriers can be seen in the Gypsy Rose Blanchard case. Biography points to this instance:

“When Gypsy was 14, she saw a neurologist in Missouri who came to believe she was a victim of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. However, this doctor never reported her case to authorities. In later interviews, he stated his belief that there wasn’t enough evidence to act.”

Years later, in 2009, “...an anonymous report was made to authorities stating that Dee Dee’s accounts of Gypsy’s ailments had no medical basis. This resulted in two caseworkers visiting their home, but Dee Dee convinced them there was nothing wrong.”

Medical Child Abuse in the Justice System

Tragically, very often cases of MCA do result in the deaths of their victims. As Feldman observed in his 2003 foreword to Sickened :

“A recent study indicates that when a case of MBP is finally recognized, up to twenty-five percent of the sickened child's siblings have already died- most likely earlier victims of the perpetrator. Only when the same pattern of symptoms appears in the second child of the family, or the third or fourth or fifth, have professionals and legal authorities been forced to realize that motherhood can twist into a strange illness-related type of abuse that, unlike battering or sexual violation, defies ready categorization.”

But the story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and her mother offered a case where it concluded in the death of the perpetrator. And in the subsequent trial and media frenzy, it was demonstrated just how ill-equipped our systems are to grapple with the realities of Medical Child Abuse.

Dee Dee Blanchard was dead. However, the medical system failed to prevent her crimes, and the justice system was now rendered unable to make Dee Dee answer for them. Instead, they were left merely to determine the punishment for her killers. In the case of Nicholas Godejohn, that proved to be a sentence of life in prison. But in the matter of Dee Dee’s daughter and victim, Gypsy Rose, Biograph y notes that she “agreed to a deal with prosecutors in 2016 because of her prior abuse and received a minimum sentence of 10 years.”

Could there have been another outcome? When it comes to actually prosecuting Medical Child Abuse, Feldman says the justice system can be manipulated to try to minimize MCA in many ways, especially by evoking the Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy verbiage.

“The perpetrator’s attorney in MCA/MBP cases will predictably try to capitalize on misunderstandings among the general public (and among judges and juries),” says Feldman.

Feldman cites several excuses that have been presented to argue against MCA, including claims that these caregivers only did as the doctors told them—“but the doctors based their recommendation on the perpetrator’s false information,” he counters. As for those who question the existence of MCA, as it operates on the premise that an average parent could “outsmart” doctors, Feldman says, “doctors and others are taught to believe what patients and families tell them.”

Perhaps the most jarring reality to grapple with about MCA is the realization of just how ill-equipped both our current medical and justice systems are to even recognize it at all, says Feldman. Regarding “mental health evaluations” that often come into play during legal proceedings, he says, “psychological testing cannot be used to prove or disprove the existence of MBP abuse because there are no mental tests for it, and it cannot be ruled in or out based on interviews–unless the perpetrator confesses.”

The Stories We Tell

The real Baron Munchausen—Hieronymus Karl Friedrich, Freiherr von Münchhausen—was not a malevolent man. He was a veteran of the Russo-Turkish War of 1735–1739, and at the age of 40, he retired to Germany.

There, he became a sort of celebrity amongst the German elite. They relished in listening to his stories, which were in some cases embellished. But Hieronymous didn’t embellish because he wanted glory; he was telling his crowds what they wanted to hear. One person who knew Hieronymous said he told his stories “to ridicule the disposition for the marvellous which he observed in some of his acquaintances.”

In the end, perhaps that’s the one thing we can take away from the term, “Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.” A reminder of the culpability—not just of the medical professionals or the legal system, but even the fans who consume the true crime content about the mysterious and deeply misunderstood disease, especially the gripping tale of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and her mother .

It’s a reminder that a lie is only effective if people choose to listen to it, to believe it without question. To shrug off doubt, because deep down, we’d rather just be told a story.

Michael Natale is the news editor for Best Products , covering a wide range of topics like gifting, lifestyle, pop culture, and more. He has covered pop culture and commerce professionally for over a decade. His past journalistic writing can be found on sites such as Yahoo! and Comic Book Resources , his podcast appearances can be found wherever you get your podcasts, and his fiction can’t be found anywhere, because it’s not particularly good. 

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Gypsy-Rose Blanchard Reveals ‘Biggest Lesson’ She’s Learnt Since Prison Release: ‘Take Your Time’

Blanchard was released from prison in December 2023 after serving eight years of her 10-year sentence

Gypsy-Rose Blanchard is experiencing many things for the first time following her release from prison four months ago.

While speaking about her Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard documentary series on the An Evening with Lifetime: Conversations On Controversies FYC event panel on Wednesday, May 1, Blanchard, 32, discussed the "biggest lesson" that she's learned during this major life transition.

"I think the biggest lesson that I've learned is take your time," she told the panel, which was moderated by PEOPLE's Janine Rubenstein . "Because I think too often, I get also excited about my newfound freedom, and so I think I rush to do things, I want to cram it all in, so I'm just learning to take my time."

Blanchard said she thinks she's "doing very well," but noted, "These last four months has been met with challenges and ups and downs." 

"But that's life, right? So I'm just enjoying it," the famed Munchausen by proxy victim added at the event, which was held at The Grove in Los Angeles.

Related: Gypsy Rose Blanchard, Set to Be Freed From Prison, Regrets Murdering Mother: 'She Didn’t Deserve That' (Exclusive)

Discussing some of the firsts she'd experienced since being released from prison, Blanchard said, "I got to go to the beach for the first time [today], and that was really exciting. I walked around The Grove, went to Sephora for the first time, so this has just definitely been a wonderful day for me."

Admitting "every little tiny thing is big to me," in terms of her post-prison experiences, Blanchard shared, "It's so much ... just eating at Taco Bell for the first time ... it's hard to pinpoint just one."

During the interview, executive producer Melissa Moore pointed out that things like buying a refrigerator that has an ice maker in it has been a big deal to Blanchard.

"She's like, 'I'm going to take a picture by it. Do you think that'd be bragging?' I'm like, 'No, Gypsy, that'll be okay.' And then it just got me thinking. I'm like, 'Oh, we have an ice maker,' " Moore said, reflecting on the "gift" Blanchard has given her to "not take for granted the simple things."

Related: Gypsy Rose Blanchard Has a New Memoir Coming Out: See the Cover! (Exclusive)

Moore also commented on Blanchard going to Santa Monica and swimming in the ocean for the first time, adding, "When I saw her free for the first time in New York, I asked her about the shower because I remember the prison showers and just her not being able to control the temperature, and she was so blown away you can control the temperature of your shower."

"Her experiencing freedom shows me to appreciate the luxuries, the simple things in life. And that's what I take away," she continued, adding that she hopes others take that away from the documentary as well.

It's been a whirlwind few months for Blanchard, who announced she'd separated from her husband, Ryan Scott Anderson , in March. It was then reported late last month that the 32-year-old was back together with her ex-fiancé  Ken Urker .

"After reconnecting earlier this month, we realized that our love for each other is simply undeniable, and life is too short to not take a chance," Blanchard told TMZ .

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. 

She was released from prison in December 2023 after serving eight years of her 10-year prison sentence for conspiring to murder her mother, 48-year-old Dee Dee Blanchard, with her then-boyfriend, Nicholas “Nick” Godejohn . Dee Dee was stabbed to death by Godejohn in her Springfield, Mo., home on June 9, 2015, as Gypsy-Rose waited in the bathroom. 

Dee Dee had subjected her daughter to years of unnecessary medical procedures  and convinced her and others that she had a series of illnesses. It was argued in court and is widely believed that Gypsy-Rose was a victim of  Munchausen syndrome by proxy , a rare form of abuse in which a guardian exaggerates or induces illness in a child for sympathy and attention.

Following her release from prisob, Gypsy-Rose told PEOPLE she believes her mom was struggling with an untreated mental illness.

“In hindsight I really wish someone could have seen the signs and helped her,” she said. “Helping her would have helped me.”

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People .

Behind the Murder: Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s Backstory

Maayan Matsliah , Staff Writer October 28, 2022

Since its initial rise to fame, the Blanchard family has been known as one of the most unfortunate yet optimistic families. The family of two was made up of a single, unemployed mother and a daughter with many severe health conditions. Living in Springfield, Missouri, the mother-daughter duo quickly gained attention from the public for maintaining such their buoyant attitude regardless of all their struggles. However, this optimistic public view of the family quickly came crashing down. On June 14th, 2015, Gypsy Rose Blanchard pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for planning and aiding the murder of her own mother, Claudine Blanchard. Soon after, Gypsy Rose, 24, was sentenced to 10 years in jail. Speculations about the case have led to debates across the media on whether or not the court ruling was fair.

Claudine (Dee Dee) Pitre was born on May 3rd, 1967, in Chackbay, Louisiana. Having been a beauty pageant contestant and queen since her early childhood, she appeared to be set up to lead a happy, successful life. Upon outgrowing the industry, Claudine decided to pursue a job in the medical field and worked as a nurse’s aid for a short period of time. She ended up marrying a man by the name of Rod Blanchard, and gave birth to their baby girl, Gypsy Rose Blanchard. Unfortunately, soon after becoming parents, the couple split up.

Born on July 27th, 1991, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was allegedly diagnosed with sleep apnea, a serious condition that causes breathing problems during one’s slumber. Her mother claimed that Gypsy was experiencing problems while sleeping, and suggested that Gypsy had many more serious conditions and diseases, including epilepsy, leukemia, paralyzed muscular dystrophy, and sudden outbreaks of seizures. By the time Gypsy was was around eight years old, “she was in a wheelchair… and needed a feeding tube,” said Rod Blanchard, Gypsy’s father, on ABC News . As far as he could tell, however, there had been “nothing wrong with her, she was perfect” since the day she was born.

What Rod did not know at this point was that Claudine was, in fact, lying about their daughter’s health: Gypsy did not have any of the illnesses that her mother claimed she had. “Experts believe Dee Dee’s behavior stemmed from the mental disorder Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy; because Dee Dee wanted to be a caretaker, she feigned and induced illness in her daughter,” said TMJ4 News. This information, however, would not be learned until after the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard, when court proceedings revealed the truth about the Blanchards’ twisted past.

Eventually, Rod caught on that there was something off about how Claudine treated Gypsy. For instance, when Gypsy stood up from her wheelchair with no assistance during a family gathering, all those who witnessed the scene were astounded. Claudine had previously convinced them that Gypsy was not capable of getting out of her wheelchair, let alone stand up on her own, causing their family members to speculate about what was truly going on. When Dee Dee refused to answer their interrogations, they became even more concerned for Gypsy’s wellbeing. 

Claudine, aware that she wouldn’t be able to keep the truth from her family for much longer, realized that she and Gypsy must relocate. Hurricane Katrina provided her with the perfect excuse to escape the grasp of her family without people questioning her motives behind the sudden move. After claiming that the recent hurricane had left her and Gypsy homeless, the Blanchards were rescued and taken in by a special needs shelter in Springfield, Missouri. Claudine also attributed Hurricane Katrina to destroying Gypsy’s medical forms, which had never existed in the first place. 

Soon after moving to Springfield, the Blanchards, known for remaining optimistic despite having lived a miserable life,  found themselves quickly rising to fame. “They were the shining stars in this town of people who can outlast adversity and get through everything,” crime writer M.J. Pack said on ABC News. “[Gypsy Rose] was like one of the happiest people I had ever met, and yet she was the most sick that I had ever met at the same time,” said an interviewee on ABC News. Eventually, “Gypsy Rose Blanchard” had become a household name in the town. As her story became more well-known, the Make-A-Wish Foundation took notice of the family and assisted Gypsy in living out her dreams, regardless of the conditions restraining her from doing so. “Between hospital stays, Gypsy frequently jet sets across the country, [attends] ball games, galas, [and] Disney World,” ABC News reported. “Make-A-Wish would take her down to Orlando, all expenses paid.” 

At this point, “the mother-daughter duo [became] local celebrities; the subjects of countless local news profiles and articles,” ABC News said. Gypsy got to meet Lord of the Rings cast members Elijah Wood and Sean Astin, as well as many other celebrities. One figure who made a tremendous impact in the Blanchards’ life was Miranda Lambert. Allegedly, the star donated $3,500 to the family in order to help them with their medical bills. 

Eventually, it came time for the Blanchards to move out of the special needs shelter, and to find a permanent home. Once again, the Make-A-Wish Foundation stepped in and helped the Blanchards to get back on their feet. This time, however, the charity’s donation was much greater than any of its previous provisions––it donated a home to the family. Complete with accommodations, including a wheelchair ramp built especially for Gypsy’s needs, the home really was the “dream come true” for the Blanchards. “It just proves that happy endings are not just in fairy tales, they’re real and true in real life,” said Gypsy Rose on E! News .

Although Gypsy was fond of the benefits that came with her rise to fame, she always had the desire to be a “normal” teenager and to experience life the way every typical adolescent her age does. “In private, Gypsy just wants to be a regular teen, and find love,” said Gypsy’s friend and neighbor, Aleah Woodmansee, on E! News. “She would show interest in different boys… ask me advice on how to approach them [and] how to kiss a boy,” Woodmansee explained to E! News. In an attempt to pursue a love life, Gypsy began joining numerous online dating apps/websites. When her mother found out about this, she feared that it wouldn’t be long before Gypsy would expose the family’s secrets to a stranger she had a crush on. Agitated and enraged, Claudine smashed Gypsy’s phone and prohibited her from talking to boys ever again. 

Claudine’s attempts were ineffective, however, as it wasn’t long before Gypsy secretly joined an online Christian dating site on a laptop that she kept hidden in her room. Through the site, Gypsy met a man named Nicholas Godejohn, who quickly became her boyfriend. As Claudine predicted, Gypsy ended up revealing the deep dark secrets behind her miserable life. She filled Godejohn in on how her mother had been abusing her both mentally and physically, faking her medical conditions and forbidding her from making friends and talking to boys. Enraged by what his girlfriend was telling him, Godejohn was determined to seek justice for Gypsy.

The couple decided that the only way that they could possibly be together was to somehow remove Claudia from Gypsy’s life. It didn’t take long before the couple arranged Claudine’s murder. The murder was hastily and poorly planned, with little to no consideration of how the couple would cover up Claudine’s death. On June 14th, 2015, Godejohn arrived at the Blanchards’ home and stabbed his defenseless victim seven times, all while Gypsy hid in the bathroom, covering her ears, until the murder was completed. 

Gypsy and Godejohn returned to Godejohn’s house in Wisconsin, not bothering to clean up the scene. The couple was rather careless when it came to the aftermath of the murder: it was as if they had wanted to get caught. A couple days after the murder of her mother, Gypsy posted on facebook: “The b***h is dead.” According to Biography.com , “she later explained she made the posts because she wanted her mother’s body to be discovered.”

It wasn’t long before Gypsy and Godejohn were caught and tried for the murder of Claudine Blanchard. This led to many speculations from the public. People began wondering what caused such a seemingly innocent adolescent, someone who had been known to have good moral values and an undying sense of optimism, to kill the one person who cared for her throughout the entirety of her life. Eventually, after numerous court trials and countless interviews, the public finally caught on that Claudine had been lying about Gypsy’s health conditions all along with the motives of gaining money and attention. 

Although Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s scheming and assistance in murdering Claudine Blanchard is not justifiable whatsoever, the backstory of this mother-daughter duo compels feelings of empathy towards the girl who was so ruthlessly abused throughout the entirety of her life. Now, readers, after hearing the complexity of Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s backstory, I invite you to come up with your own opinion: do you think Gypsy Rose was rightfully sentenced?

• maayan matsliah

Maayan Matsliah ('25) is excited to be a Staff Writer for The Echo. She enjoys exploring different types of music, as well as expressing her creativity...

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Gypsy Rose Blanchard's then and now photos have to be seen to be believed

Gypsy rose recently got back together with her ex-fiance ken urker.

Gypsy-Rose Blanchard , once a victim of Munchausen by proxy, has undergone a profound transformation, both inside and out. On Tuesday, May 7, she took to social media to share a poignant reflection of her journey from a troubled past to a hopeful present.

In a compelling side-by-side photo posted on both TikTok and Instagram, Gypsy-Rose juxtaposed two very different moments of her life. 

The first image captures her at 18 years old, sitting in a wheelchair, clad in colorful pajamas and a pink sweatshirt, her youthful face framed by a matching beanie as she clutches stuffed animals. 

This starkly contrasts with the current photo of her at 32, where she appears in a sleeveless black blouse and glossy pink lipstick, exuding a newfound confidence and maturity as she lies in bed.

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Accompanying the visual narrative on TikTok was Alessia Cara's anthem "Scars to Your Beautiful," a fitting backdrop for her message of resilience and recovery. 

The post was tagged with references to her upcoming Lifetime series, Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up, and included an uplifting message: "Stay positive, there is always hope."

On Instagram, Gypsy-Rose offered a closer look at her transformation, emphasizing the beauty and strength found in overcoming one's past. 

"There is a beauty in the struggle of overcoming your past. #selflove," she captioned, resonating with her followers who have witnessed her evolution.

This reflective moment comes shortly after Gypsy-Rose's trip to Los Angeles, where she attended Lifetime's Television Academy For Your Consideration event. 

At this panel, moderated by Janine Rubenstein, she opened up about her experiences since her release from prison in December 2023 and the impact of sudden media attention on her mental health.

"I'm very much an introvert," Gypsy-Rose shared, revealing the challenges she faced adjusting to life in the spotlight. 

"And so coming out and this media storm hit me, and I was... At first, I really, really was touched by the positivity that people were showing me. And then as social media began and how it always does, it turned negative. It started to have a negative effect on my mental health."

Embracing her new beginning, Gypsy-Rose also underwent a physical transformation, which included dyeing her hair blonde and undergoing rhinoplasty. These changes were more than cosmetic; they were symbolic of her desire to distance herself from her past and embrace a new identity. 

"I felt like, you know, going into prison, growing my hair out, that was me evolving into my own back then, but then coming out of prison was another evolving moment for me. So I think that right now I'm very comfortable in the way I look, and I'm proud and I have confidence now," she explained to People at the event.

The upcoming premiere of Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up on June 3 on Lifetime promises to delve deeper into her story. 

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What Happened on Night 3 of The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard

The final two episodes of the Lifetime documentary zero in on Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s love life and her arrest for her mother’s murder.

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Catch up with the first four episodes of Lifetime’s new docuseries The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard in our recaps of .css-9lyfaf{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;word-break:break-word;font-weight:bold;}.css-9lyfaf:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;} night one and night two .

The third and final night of The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard began with information about the courtship of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and her now-husband Ryan Anderson . Episodes 5 and 6 of the Lifetime documentary count down to their wedding on July 21, 2022. Anderson appears in a series of interviews, with he and Blanchard telling parts of their love story, which is then juxtaposed with the upsetting footage from when Blanchard was arrested and questioned by police.

Gypsy’s Arrest

The June 2015 arrest of Blanchard and ex-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn in Waukesha, Wisconsin—thanks to tracking the IP address of those unforgettable Facebook posts —is a pivotal part of night three. A lot of the police footage has already been featured in other coverage of the case, but interviews from Blanchard, her lawyer Michael Stanfield, and her family show how high the stakes really were.

Blanchard recounts being made to hide in a closet with Godejohn as full swat teams gathered outside, so he could come up with the story they would tell police. But once Blanchard stepped outside, to guns with lasers pointing at her, everything kind of fell apart. “I was completely in the dark about what Nick was saying. I kept thinking that he was going to stick with the story that he created, and that our stories would line up, and we would be released,” Blanchard said. “That’s not at all how that went down.”

She seems honest and sincere in her recollection of her arrest, admitting that she genuinely didn’t think cops would be able to figure out the full story. A particularly dramatic moment comes when Blanchard’s family and lawyer discover Dee Dee’s immaculate and overwhelming medical cabinet in July 2015. The discovery of a stolen prescription pad, which allowed Dee Dee to abuse Gypsy without even needing to rely on a doctor, had everyone reeling. The guilt of Gypsy’s father, Rod, in subsequent interviews is palpable, and at one point he says, “I just should have been there. I don’t… I wish I would have, you know? I regret that a lot.”

At Blanchard’s preliminary hearing that same month, the home movie she made (that debuted during night two of the docuseries and proved she was involved in planning the murder) came back to bite her, shocking her entire family, and her lawyer, who called it “a very hard pill to swallow.” It was then he realized that if the case went to trial, and they didn’t win, Blanchard would likely die in prison.

So when she was presented with a plea deal for second-degree murder and a 10-year sentence, Blanchard said yes, “like accepting a marriage proposal.” That meant she would have the possibility of probation after serving 8 years. “I think I would have been a whole mess if they would have just let me out of prison scot-free, didn’t do any time,” Blanchard said. “I don’t think that I would have had the mental stability to transition as smoothly as I have with 10 years in between the two.”

Gypsy’s Romantic Relationships and Marriage to Ryan Anderson

In early 2019, after Godejohn had been convicted of first-degree murder partially due to Blanchard’s testimony, he reached out to her with a letter, saying that he still loved her and didn’t regret what he had done. Blanchard replied to end things for good, writing, “We’re both paying consequences of our choices… I don’t want a relationship with you, and I’m happy.”

Shocking her then-fiancé Anderson, Blanchard also reached out to her ex-fiancé Ken one month before her wedding to Anderson, because she was struggling with letting go of the man who bailed on their relationship after reading about it in the press. She and her stepmother Kristy worried that Anderson would end up doing the same thing.

“At the end of the day, I’m a murderer. That’s just the harsh reality of it,” Blanchard said. “And I always feel like the reality of who I am, and the gravity of what he got himself into, he might run.” He already had an opportunity though, as Anderson recounts the heartbreak of having to resign from his job as a sixth-grade teacher because the Christian school felt he was putting the children in danger by being with Blanchard.

Blanchard gave insight as to why they had to get married so quickly, saying, “I don’t think that [people] understand that when someone is on parole, they have to parole to a family member.” The weeks leading up to the wedding play out like a will-they or won’t-they romance, but after receiving her father’s blessing, Blanchard decides to go through with it.

An argument three months after the wedding brings the reality of their relationship into perspective, with Blanchard saying: “I don’t know how to be healthy for him. I said I need help. I need therapy, and I think that you do, too. So, he got a therapist, and he has gotten me a therapist. And that has been the last argument that we have had.” The couple plan to have a bigger wedding now that Blanchard is out of prison with a fancy white dress and Blanchard’s father walking her down the aisle.

Everything builds to an uplifting end, with Blanchard’s family cheering her on and imagining positive things for her following her December 2023 release . “I want to live a simple life that everybody else takes for granted, just doing the simple things, like driving a car, having dinner with friends. I want a job,” Blanchard said. “I want to look in that mirror and see everything that my mother said that I wouldn’t be. I don’t expect it to be easy. But I think that’s part of the fun, too. And I’m just ready. I’m ready to take it on.”

Overall Rating: 4 Drama Rating: 4

How to watch the prison confessions of gypsy rose blanchard.

You can stream the first two episodes of The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard for free on mylifetime.com through January 15. The remaining four episodes are also available to watch on the platform with a subscription. You can also purchase episodes on Amazon Prime Video and Vudu .

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