Meet Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Real-Life Neighbor Aleah Woodmansee
Gypsy Rose Blanchard dreamed of a fairy tale life of epic Disney proportions. However, Gypsy Rose's real-life story was a horror flick rather than a magical love story. She grew up isolated and abused by her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, with just one real-life friend, her next-door neighbor, Aleah Woodmansee.
Gypsy Rose and Woodmansee were described as having a "big sister" relationship, hanging out, surfing the net, and swapping girl tips. "She would show interest in different boys and try to ask me advice on, you know, 'How do you approach them? How do you, like, kiss a boy?'" Woodmansee told ABC News. "Gypsy just wanted to be a regular teen." Sadly, Gypsy Rose was far from that. Woodmansee had no idea of the horrors occurring under her neighbor's roof until it was too late, though. When Gypsy Rose was arrested in 2015, Woodmansee discovered her BFF — and her over-protective, smothering mom — were not who she believed them to be. "I thought I knew these people so well. I come to find out I have no idea who they are," she told WISN 12 News. "It's kind of painful because I really thought I was really close to them."
After news broke of Gypsy Rose's involvement in her mother's gruesome murder, Woodmansee was unwittingly thrust into the media spotlight at the center of a very public and very sensationalist criminal trial. So, what happened to her after Gypsy Rose landed in prison? And now she's been released, are they still friends?
Fairytale horror flick
Aleah Woodmansee is the only child of a single mom, just like her friend and former next-door neighbor, Gypsy Rose Blanchard. That's where any comparisons end, though. Woodmansee was 23 when Gypsy Rose murdered her mom, Dee Dee Blanchard, and then fled with her boyfriend and murder partner-in-crime, Nick Godejohn. As her closest confidante, Woodmansee had been aware of Gypsy Rose's whirlwind online romance with Godejohn. However, she told Buzzfeed that Dee Dee had warned her to stay away from her daughter, and she had lost touch with her former BFF before the horrific stabbing occurred.
Woodmansee told the cops about Godejohn, whom Gypsy Rose had been secretly messaging after meeting on Facebook, and they were able to trace the lovestruck murderers. It was only after Gypsy Rose was apprehended that Woodmansee discovered her neighbor's myriad of medical ailments were all a fraud. "I just cried," she admitted.
As if it wasn't bad enough to discover your best friend violently stabbed their mom to death after being forced to live a lie for their entire existence, Woodmansee's life was turned upside down when she became a public figure through no desire of her own. In 2019, she found herself portrayed on the small screen after Hulu released "The Act," a limited series based on Gypsy Rose's life story. In the show, Woodmansee's character, "Lacey," is depicted by AnnaSophia Robb. It's safe to say Woodmansee is not a fan.
Compassion and hope
Aleah Woodmansee was thrust into the media glare following her next-door neighbor, Gypsy Rose Blanchard's arrest in 2015. However, she's strived to stay out of the spotlight as much as possible, and she shuns any TV coverage, including Hulu's "The Act," which depicts her as a character called Lacey. "Honestly, I have not watched the show. I'm always hesitant to watch anything that comes out, even interviews I did," Woodmansee told In Touch. "To be quite honest, I don't like what I hear about how I am being portrayed. I understand that it's supposed to be dramatized, but [there] are a few things I have had issues with."
Woodmansee takes umbrage at the writers' dramatic license, including her drinking and smoking with Gypsy Rose and the girls tattooing each other. "I've worked hard on maintaining a respectable image during and after the case, [and] I really don't appreciate that being undone by the carelessness of people who prefer drama over respect," she said.
Meanwhile, Woodmansee feels nothing but compassion for Gypsy Rose and wants the best for her former friend. "It's so easy to say that she did or didn't deserve her [prison sentence] — but there are so many things to consider," she told In Touch. "I hope that she gets the help she needs to be able to live the fullest, most normal life as possible in the most healthy way."