What Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Life In Prison Was Really Like
The puzzling story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard has been examined in countless articles and documentaries since the gruesome case took the media by storm. In June 2015, Blanchard — who by all accounts was wheelchair-bound and had multiple grave health problems ranging from leukemia to muscular dystrophy — was arrested for her involvement in the murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard. Following her arrest, investigators discovered that Gypsy Rose was a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy at the hands of her mother for years, which led to her and secret boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn carrying out the murder.
In July 2016, Gypsy Rose pled guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with eligibility for parole in 2024. She was released early from prison in December 2023 and had planned a number of events and interviews prior to her release. While she spent years in prison, there was a lot that Gypsy Rose was able to do from behind bars, but she was, of course, also limited. Here's what her life in prison was really like.
A newfound freedom behind bars
For most people, the idea of going to prison is terrifying, as life behind bars can be dehumanizing with zero freedom. Every aspect of the day is dictated by a correctional officer, and there is little to no opportunity to experience anything outside of the prison walls. Despite the nature of prison, Gypsy Rose Blanchard has repeatedly expressed that her time in jail was much more freeing than the years she was under her mother's care and control.
Under Dee Dee Blanchard's guardianship, Gypsy Rose was forbidden to walk, eat normally, go outside, or have friends, but in prison, she finally got the chance to be her own person. "Over here, I feel like I'm freer in prison, than with living with my mom. Because now, I'm allowed to ... just live like a normal woman," the young woman explained in a "20/20" interview.
In the same regard, Kristy Blanchard, Gypsy Rose's stepmother, told the Springfield News-Leader, "Despite everything, she still tells me that she's happier now than with her mom." She continued, "And that if she had a choice to either be in jail, or back with her mom, she would rather be in jail."
She found love and marriage in prison
Prison isn't the best place to find romance, but for Gypsy Rose Blanchard, it opened up opportunities to explore dating, which led to her getting engaged ... twice. In 2017, Blanchard met a man named Ken through a pen pal program at her prison. The two dated for a year and a half, and Ken proposed in April 2019. By August 2019, Kristy Blanchard revealed to In Touch that the engagement was off, and family friend Fancy Marcelli told the outlet that Ken was allegedly only in it for the money. "Ken wasn't in it for Gypsy; he saw her as a cash cow. She ended it with Ken, she didn't trust him anymore," Macelli shared.
Following her split from Ken, Gypsy Rose was once again back in the prison dating scene. In August 2022, she officially tied the knot to a teacher named Ryan Scott Anderson. As it turns out, Anderson decided to write a letter to the inmate as a result of a bet with his friend. "'Tiger King' was very popular at the time. And so my friend said, 'Oh, I really want to write tiger king,'" he recounted on "The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard (via Today). "And I said, 'OK, well, I'll make a deal with you. You write Tiger King. I'll write Gypsy Rose Blanchard.' And that's what happened." She was able to unite with Anderson upon her release, and the two had big plans for exploring the world together.
She made a post-release bucket list
Ahead of her being able to leave prison in December 2023, Gypsy Rose Blanchard had a few plans up her sleeve, including meeting none other than Taylor Swift. The convict had a deep connection with the musical artist, as she explained to TMZ that she used her commissary money to purchase every Swift album released since she was incarcerated.
Blanchard revealed to the publication that just days after her set release, she and her husband, Ryan Scott Anderson, purchased tickets to see the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on December 31, 2023. She explained that her plan was to hopefully cross paths with T-Swift, who is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, during the game. As it turned out, Blanchard had to leave the state at the request of her probation officer before she could attend the game, so her plans for a chance meeting with her celebrity idol were squashed.
In addition to her musical plans, Blanchard also intends to do a lot of public speaking gigs and advocacy work for victims of child abuse. In tandem with her work with child abuse victims, she wants to bring more attention to Munchausen by proxy, the syndrome that afflicted her mother.
Blanchard took up several hobbies
When Gypsy Rose Blanchard was still under the control of her mother, she was extremely limited as to what she could and could not do. In addition to being forcibly confined to a wheelchair and fed through a feeding tube, Blanchard wasn't allowed to engage in the normal hobbies that people her age typically enjoy. In prison, however, she found a number of interests and hobbies, ranging from photography to cosmetology. "She does all of the photography for when the inmates take pictures and things like that," family friend Fancy Macelli explained to E! News. "She's gotten into skin care and make-up and that kind of stuff."
For Blanchard, her newfound pastimes gave structure and purpose to her life, which was long dictated by her mother before she was murdered. Macelli told The Springfield News-Leader, "I feel like Gypsy has had a good — you know, she's getting discipline, she's getting structure, all of those different things."
She earned her GED
Hobbies weren't the only things that occupied Gypsy Rose Blanchard's time in prison. Since her education was disrupted after her mother removed her from school in the second grade, Blanchard took time to study hard while in prison and obtained her GED for her efforts. GED — short for general educational development — gives people who did not finish high school the opportunity to obtain a high school equivalent diploma.
While Blanchard's regimented schedule behind bars involved work and hobbies, her schooling was also an important part of the picture. In a 2019 interview with the Springfield News-Leader, stepmother Kristy Blanchard said that Gypsy Rose was "thriving" in prison, and explained, "She wakes up, goes to school, she goes to take pictures, back to school again, back to work again." With a GED, Gypsy Rose can pursue her own career goals and even go to college if she decides to.
Blanchard expressed she has no hate for her ex
While Gypsy Rose Blanchard was still living with her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, relationships outside of the house, including friendships, were forbidden. Sometime in 2012, Gypsy Rose decided to defy her mother and make a secret online dating account. She met Nicholas Godejohn on the website, and the two talked in secret for two and a half years, often professing their love for one another with hopes of marrying in the future. The two planned to meet in person at a movie theater in March 2015, but to Gypsy Rose's dismay, Dee Dee was weirded out by Godejohn and disciplined her for spending too much time with him that day.
The pair planned Dee Dee's murder shortly after that incident, and in June 2015, Godejohn was led into the Blanchard home by Gypsy Rose, and stabbed Dee Dee to death while Gypsy Rose hid. Days later, the couple was arrested in connection with Dee Dee's death. In February 2019, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder of Dee Dee.
Gypsy Rose and Godejohn's relationship fizzled after their arrests, and she revealed that she doesn't harbor resentment toward him for what he did. "I don't hate him. I feel sorry for him," she said in her "20/20" interview. "Just that somebody could do something so heartless and not express remorse and not feel like he's responsible for it."
Her story aired on TV and she couldn't watch it
After her story went viral, the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard and the puzzling case of Gypsy Rose Blanchard was picked up by a number of television networks. From investigative journalism to dramatized works, Gypsy Rose has had her fair share of fame in documentaries like HBO's "Mommy Dead and Dearest," to Hulu's true crime series, "The Act," starring actor Joey King.
"The Act" received significant acclaim, though Gypsy Rose was unhappy with her story being told on screen without her consent. She told Bustle via email in 2019, "I am unable to watch 'The Act.' However, I feel it is very unfair and unprofessional that producers and co-producer Michelle Dean has used my actual name and story without my consent, and the life rights to do so." Gypsy Rose threatened legal action against the show's creators, but Fancy Macelli quickly shut down her statements, telling Vulture, "[It] was from her own place of anger and disappointment and frustration ... Nobody is taking legal action."
Gypsy Rose's story will once again be told, but this time in her own words; the Lifetime docuseries, "The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard," aired on the network in January 2024. In the trailer, Gypsy Rose opened up, "As a survivor of relentless child abuse, this docuseries chronicles my quest to expose the hidden parts of my life that have never been revealed until now."
She has garnered a huge TikTok following
Leading up to her release from prison on December 28, 2023, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was already making preparations to assimilate into society, which in part started with social media accounts. Following her release, Blanchard began garnering a huge following on her Instagram and TikTok accounts, where she has 8.1 million and 9.8 million followers, respectively. Like someone who has been in prison for years and was physically and mentally abused for most of her life, Blanchard's content largely focused on the many freedoms she had the ability to experience, ranging from "get ready with me" style videos to videos about various events she attended. However, those videos have since been taken down, seemingly so that Blanchard could focus instead on advocacy projects.
Over the span of just a few days, Blanchard's social media following amassed millions, which proved to have its pros and cons. While she has countless supporters cheering her on, she also has many haters who criticize everything from how she lives her life to how the world has embraced her despite her second-degree murder conviction. The fans-turned-haters have also accused Blanchard of profiting off of a terrible tragedy by partaking in interviews, releasing a docuseries, and sharing her life on social media. Blanchard's fan base is pretty split, but if one thing is evident, it is that the audience of people who are criticizing Blanchard are the very ones who built her a platform in the first place.
Her post-release TV interviews have drawn significant attention
Since her mother's death in 2015, Gypsy Rose Blanchard's story has mystified the country and the world. Following her release, Gypsy has had a number of TV and print interviews discussing her story, her time in prison, and what her plans are with her husband, Ryan Anderson. Her first big interview was with Deborah Roberts of "Good Morning America" on January 5, 2024. The interview covered her tragic past and her involvement in the murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, as well as her connection to her younger self and what she is planning for the future.
Another high-profile interview took place the same day with ET, in which she discussed adjusting to her newfound freedom and social media fame. "I don't even comprehend it at this point because for me, I'm just another face in the crowd," Blanchard explained. "So, when I came out of prison I didn't expect this giant wave of social media, you know? I'm posting selfies just like the next person would ... not thinking anything of it. And before [you know it] it has 2 million views." In addition to several news outlet interviews, like with People and others, Blanchard has also appeared on podcasts like "The Viall Files."
Fun activities and press tours occupy her time
Gypsy Rose Blanchard has been busy living life to the fullest since finishing her prison sentence. Prior to her release, she was working on her Lifetime documentary, "The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard," in which she shared her story from behind bars. The documentary, which premiered on January 5, 2024, had a lot of promotion leading up to and following her release. As it's a project that is close to Blanchard's heart, her time has been filled with press tours and interviews across various news and entertainment outlets, including "Good Morning America," "The View," and Entertainment Tonight.
In addition to being busy with her work-related responsibilities, Blanchard has also found space in her life to travel and spend time doing activities with her husband, Ryan Anderson. On Instagram and TikTok, she has documented herself doing fun things like exploring New York City, getting hair highlights, playing with her new puppy, and meeting professional wrestler Ricky Starks.
A video has sparked pregnancy rumors
Being that she is in the public eye, many people have speculated about Gypsy Rose Blanchard's personal life, ranging from the legitimacy of her marriage to her motives for sharing her story. Recently, a growing rumor has begun to sweep Blanchard's fanbase, and it involves the possibility of her being pregnant.
The rumor started with a video that Lifetime shared on its official Instagram page. In the reel, Blanchard is seated next to her husband, Ryan Anderson, who is holding their new puppy. The video is filmed from the waist up, and that, combined with Blanchard's giggly demeanor and the title, "exclusive announcement from Gypsy and Ryan," pasted on the video, led some fans and Instagram users to speculate that she is pregnant.
The rumor has neither been confirmed nor denied by Blanchard nor Anderson. The announcement, however, appears to be a follow-up to her Lifetime docuseries, "The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard," which will seemingly pick up in the days after her prison release and "be an authentic, raw and revealing look at [her] new 'normal,'" according to the post.