At a young age, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was constantly diagnosed with numerous medical issues, which were all fabricated by her mother. When she was eight years old, her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, claimed her daughter was suffering from leukemia, muscular dystrophy, asthma, epilepsy, and had visual and auditory impairments. These were the reasons Gypsy needed to shave her head, wear glasses, use a wheelchair, and have a feeding tube. 

Though able to walk and eat on her own as well as being completely cancer free, Dee Dee Blanchard fabricated her daughter’s illnesses for attention and sympathy. Munchausens syndrome by proxy, is a mental illness and a form of child abuse, where a child’s caregiver, typically a mother, makes up symptoms or causes real symptoms to make it appear that their child is sick. 

Due to her charming personality, Dee Dee was able to make it appear on the outside that she was entirely devoted to her daughter. Due to some nurse training, she was able to describe to nurses and doctors specific symptoms in order to get the ‘treatment’ Gypsy needed.

Dee Dee Blanchard was able to get away with convincing others that her daughter was ill because as soon as doctors would question the cause of Gypsy’s illnesses, or get suspicious, Dee Dee would switch doctors. 

In 2008, they moved to Springfield, Missouri, from Louisiana. Habitat for Humanity had built a small pink house, with a wheelchair ramp, as a gift for the two. Dee Dee received assistance in her move because she claimed she was a victim in hurricane Katrina. 

When Gypsy visited a neurologist in Missouri, the doctor came to believe that Gypsy was a victim of Munchausen syndrome, but there was not sufficient evidence to report Dee Dee. 

Though a year later, an anonymous report was made because of lack of medical records of Gypsys illnesses. Two case workers visited the Blanchard home, but Dee Dee was able to convince them that everything was okay. 

Since Dee Dee claimed she had fallen a victim to Katrina, she had an excuse for Gypsy’s missing documents. 

As Gypsy started to get older, it was harder for Dee Dee to control her daughter. Gypsy was not allowed to go to school, though her intelligence was perfectly normal for her age. Naturally, Gypsy started to question if she was actually sick, and she started to use the internet to form connections. 

This led to Gypsy attempting to run away, with a man she met at a science convention. Her mother was able to track her down, and scowled the man by telling him she was a minor. Gypsy was actually 19 years old at the time, but Dee Dee was lying about her daughter’s age, by altering the dates on her birth certificate. 

“That was a really, really hard time for me because she chained me to the bed, and I was chained for two weeks. That was one of the moments in my life that I’m like, I can’t keep living this way,” Gypsy said, according to E! News. 

When Gypsy managed to get back online once again, she joined a Christian dating site. There she met Nick Godejohn, who was the first person Gypsy had ever opened up about her, and her mothers relationship. 

Gypsy had then asked her mother if she could meet Godejohn in person for the first time at a movie theater. She dressed as Cinderella, and he as a prince. Gypsy hoped Dee Dee would approve of the couple, but she did not. 

“She ordered me to stay away from him. and needless to say, that was a very long argument that lasted a couple of weeks,” Gypsy said, in an interview with ABC News. 

This led to Gypsy asking Godejohn if he would kill Dee Dee, so they could be together. 

“It was not because I hated her, it was because I wanted to escape her,” Gypsy said, in an interview with ABC News. 

On June 9th 2015, Godejohn came to the Blanchard household, and stabbed Dee Dee Blanchard, while Gypsy hid in the bathroom. The couple then drove to the Godejohns house in Wisconsin, and hid for six days, before they were taken into custody by the police. 

Many people began to question why Gypsy didn’t run to authorities for help, since she didn’t need the wheelchair, but she said that she was too scared of her mother.  

“I couldn’t just jump out of the wheelchair because I didn’t know what my mother would do,” Gypsy said, in an interview with Dr. Phil. 

Gypsy’s medical records documented the abuse she underwent, and her lawyers were able to arrange a plea deal for the charges she faced for her mothers death. 

In 2016, Gypsy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, and was sentenced to ten years in prison but only served 85% of her sentence. She was released on December 28th, 2023, from the Chillicothe Correctional Center in Chillicothe, Missouri.

As for Godejohn, he was found guilty for murder of the first-degree, and is to spend life in prison. 

Gypsy Rose has now resorted to telling her story, to help others in similar abusive relationships. She doesn’t want people to resort to murder when they feel trapped. 

“It may seem like every avenue is closed off, but there is always another way. Do anything but don’t take this course of action,” Gypsy said, according to People. 

While in jail, Gypsy was able to find love. She married Ryan Scott Anderson in June of 2022. Blanchard has since confirmed that the couple lives together in Louisiana. 

Gypsy is not only planning to devote her time outside of jail to advocating for abuse survivors and victims, but she also wrote an eBook while in prison titled Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom. This includes information on Gypsy’s time in prison, illustrations and drawings from her past, as well as personal photos. 

Along with her eBook release, the first episode of a three part Lifetime docu-series called The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, was released on January 5th, and will continue through January 7th. 

“The docuseries chronicles my quest to expose the hidden parts of my life that have never been revealed, until now,” Gypsy said, in the trailer to The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard.  

A day after her release, Gypsy posted a photo on her Instagram account (@gypsyrose_a_blanchard) with the caption ‘First selfie of freedom.’ She currently has 7.7 million followers on Instagram, as of January 7th. Her platform will only grow more and more as people are curious to see what she’s up to.

Via social media, Gypsy Rose has shared that she has spent her time released reconnecting with members of her family. She celebrated New Years with her husband, her father, Rod Blanchard, and stepmother Kristy Blanchard. 

With the release of Gypsy’s docuseries, e-book, and active social media accounts, her story is now being revisited by people all over the world. Because she is very open about her past life in her projects, it leads many to wonder what else will Gypsy do now that she is out of jail.