Discover Gypsy Rose Blanchard: Ex-Inmate to Pop Culture Icon

Gypsy Rose Blanchard announced her pregnancy with her first baby with boyfriend Ken Urker on Tuesday, according to People.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard was a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. It is a form of abuse where a caretaker manipulates someone in their care to believe that they are ill to gain sympathy from others.

Blanchard’s mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, convinced everyone in their town that Gypsy struggled with leukemia, muscular dystrophy, and other ailments, forcing Gypsy into a wheelchair. Gypsy underwent many unnecessary medical procedures. Dee Dee also convinced Gypsy that she was much younger than her actual age and lied to her about her birth year.

Many people and charities showed sympathy to Gypsy, providing donations, free trips, and even a house.

Many doctors doubted Dee Dee’s claims of Gypsy’s illnesses, and soon Gypsy felt like her life was controlled and tried to run away.

According to NewsNationNow, Blanchard was 19 when she realized she was actually very healthy, could walk, and was never sick. She learned the full extent of her health after she was arrested in 2015.

Gypsy met her then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, online secretly in 2012, and their relationship lasted for three years. She told Godejohn about the abuse she faced, and in 2015, Godejohn murdered Dee Dee Blanchard in her sleep while Gypsy hid in the bathroom.

Gypsy and Godejohn fled the scene, and Dee Dee’s body with several stab wounds was found days later. Police soon found Gypsy and Godejohn, and they were both arrested.

Gypsy pled guilty to second-degree murder in 2016, avoiding trial with a plea deal. She earned a 10-year minimum for second-degree murder in the state of Missouri but was released early in December 2023. Godejohn was found guilty of murder in the first degree and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Gypsy returned to her normal life on December 28, 2023. She is surrounded by family and has opened up about her life after prison, expressing regret for not escaping the abuse in a different way.

Gypsy became a pop culture icon while she was in prison for fleeing abuse, and she has her own show called “Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up,” which will air on Lifetime.

Urker is a pen pal of Gypsy’s from when she served time in prison. He proposed to Gypsy in 2018, but their relationship ended before she got released from prison. After Gypsy’s divorce from her ex, Ryan Anderson, whom she married while in prison, she reconnected with Urker. They’re now together and expecting their first child.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org.

Source: Cincinnati Enquirer, People, NewsNationNow