Gypsy Rose Blanchard is currently 32 years old, and she was recently released from jail after serving eight years in prison due to her involvement with her mother’s murder. Since her sentencing, she has become one of the leading activists for Munchausen syndrome by proxy because of her experience at the hands of her mother. Munchausen syndrome by proxy is when, in most cases, the caregiver exaggerates and lies about the conditions of the child.
Born in 1991, Gypsy grew up with a very hard life. Her mother, Clauddinnea “Dee Dee” Blanchard, made multiple claims that she had different health disorders and diseases, only for Gypsy to find out years later that they were all made up. Many think the cause of all of these false diagnoses was Dee Dee having Munchausen syndrome by proxy. All of the medications and surgeries Gypsy went through were damaging to her body for the rest of her life.
Gypsy was a baby when Dee Dee claimed she experienced sleep apnea. Her mother also
claimed that she had both leukemia and muscular dystrophy at only eight years old. Throughout Gypsy’s early years, Dee Dee would go on to say that Gypsy had asthma and seizures along with hearing and visual impairments. As a child, Gypsy was required to use a feeding tube and a wheelchair. Gypsy said to ABC News, “The prison that I was living in before, with my mom, it’s, like, I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t go outside…play with friends or anything.” Not only was Gypsy medically challenged, but also physically, mentally, and emotionally.
A friend who lived near Gypsy at the time of the murder and a few years before had been very close with Gypsy because she saw Gypsy needed someone to talk to. Close to the murder, this friend had come back from college and mentioned to Gypsy that she found her current boyfriend on a dating site and showed her how the app works.
Gypsy decided to use the dating app and found someone on the app, Nicholas Godejohn. After many video calls and texts, the two wanted to meet up. Gypsy and Nick had decided to go to a movie together, Cinderella (2015). Godejohn tried to approach Gypsy, but her mother kept pushing him away. Eventually, the two snuck off to the bathroom together to finally talk. At the movie’s end, Nick approaches Gypsy and her mother, and Dee Dee tells him to back off. Nick backed down and walked away.
Later on, Gypsy arranges with Nick to murder her mother, Clauddine (Dee Dee) Blanchard. Gypsy wanted to escape her situation as fast as possible, and this was the only thing she thought to do. They outlined what they would do after her death; they would go to Wisconsin, where Nick lived at the time. Once they were done with the murder, they would send the weapon and evidence to themselves (Nick’s house). Once the job was complete, they started on their runaway and eventually got to Wisconsin, where they met with Nick’s mother. At his house, they sent out a Facebook message that said, “That B***h is dead!”. After a while, the police tracked where the message came from and caught them.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard spent eight years in prison. She had a 10-year sentence to begin with, but was granted parole. Her ex-boyfriend, Nick, was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Some significant things that happened while she was in prison were the meeting of her husband, Ryan Anderson, an interview with Dr. Phil, and the beginning of making a show called “The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard.” This show consists of what she went through living with her mother, stories from her childhood, and a deep dive into what it was like for her as she grew up. You can watch this show on Hulu.
After serving 85% of her original sentence, Gypsy was eligible for parole. She was released from prison on December 28, 2023. While imprisoned, she wrote an ebook titled Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom, published on January 9, 2024. Along with her book release, Gypsy had a lot waiting for her. Following her release, she started becoming very active on social media platforms like Tiktok and Instagram, saying in one of the short videos that she would be spending her New Year’s Eve with her father, Rod Blanchard, her stepmom Kristy Blanchard, and her husband. Her social media activities also included “clapping back” (responding) to hate comments towards her husband. “Ryan, don’t listen to the haters,” Blanchard writes on Instagram.
After being imprisoned for almost ten years, Gypsy is trying to retreat to normalcy and move on from the past. Gypsy has been through so many challenges in the past 32 years, and now that she’s out of jail, she gets to live a more normal life. She will continue on finally at peace with everything that has happened to her.
