Gypsy Rose Blanchard Has Been Released From Prison

The case of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who was convicted for her role in the killing of her mother Dee Dee Blanchard after a lifetime of medical abuse, came to national attention after a 2016 BuzzFeed article by journalist Michelle Dean went viral. The murder, and the various tragedies and deceptions that preceded it, inspired a flurry of documentaries, widely watched interviews, and dramatic series, including the HBO documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest, Love You To Death, which aired on Lifetime in 2019, and The Act on Hulu, which was produced by Dean. Now, just a week ahead of a new docuseries about her life, Gypsy was released from prison years earlier than anticipated. Here’s what you need to know about the case, the upcoming show, and where Gypsy Rose Blanchard is today.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s mother had Munchausen by proxy.

From the time Gypsy was 3 months old, her father Rod Blanchard told Dean, Dee Dee became convinced there was something medically wrong with Gypsy. Initially claiming that the infant had sleep apnea, Dee Dee wold go on to claim, without evidence, that the child had a chromosomal disorder. Over the years, Dee Dee convinced not only Gypsy but doctors and charities that her child had a vast array of illnesses, including (but not limited to) leukemia, muscular dystrophy, epilepsy, and severe asthma.

Many of her purported illnesses were treated through a combination of powerful, ultimately unnecessary drugs and even surgery. Gypsy was fed primarily through a feeding tube (needlessly) well into her 20s. Dee Dee also claimed her daughter had an intellectual disability (“the mind of a 7-year-old” was how she usually put it) and was younger than she was by altering her birth certificate so that Gypsy would continue to be seen as a child into adulthood. Gypsy was also made to use a wheelchair, despite being able to walk without issue. Together, they received goods and services from Children’s Mercy Hospital, the Ronald McDonald House, Make a Wish Foundation, and even received a home from Habitat for Humanity.

Nick Godejohn and Gypsy Rose Blanchard murdered Dee Dee in June 2015.

Over time, Gypsy realized that the medical ailments her mother told her she had weren’t actually true. In 2012, she met Godejohn online and they formed a deep, romantic bond. It wasn’t long after their first in-person meeting in 2015 that the pair began planning Dee Dee’s murder. Godejohn, who spoke frequently of his “evil side” to Gypsy was the one to stab Dee Dee 17 times in the back while she slept on June 9, 2015. Her body discovered on June 14. Within a day, by following a trail of proverbial breadcrumbs in the form of cryptic but disturbing posts on Facebook, authorities tracked the pair down to Godejohn’s home in Wisconsin.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard pled guilty to second degree murder.

It quickly became clear that this was a complicated case. When Gypsy’s lawyer, public defender Michael Stanfield received her medical records, they were so shocking that the defense was able to work out a plea bargain with the state: Gypsy pled guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. (She was granted time served for the year she spent in Green County Jail.)

Godejohn was found guilty of first degree murder and is currently serving a life sentence without parole.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard was released from prison on Dec. 28, 2023.

Gypsy was granted parole in September 2023 and was released from the Chillicothe Correctional Center at 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 28, 2023. Missouri state law dictates that prisoners must serve at least 85% of their sentence. Today, she is 32 years old.

Gypsy formed long-distance relationships with multiple men while in prison, including a broken engagement to a man named Ken in 2019. She married Ryan Scott Anderson, of whom little is known except that he is from Louisiana, in 2022.

A new documentary about Gypsy Rose Blanchard is premiering in January 2024.

The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, which was filmed while Gypsy was in prison, will air on Lifetime on Jan. 5, 6 and 7 at 8 p.m., a week and a day after her scheduled release. “As a survivor of relentless child abuse, this docuseries chronicles my quest for liberation and journey through self-discovery,” she says in a trailer. “I am unapologetically myself and unafraid to expose the hidden parts of my life that have never been revealed. Until now.”

Gypsy also says the series will reveal never-before-told details of her story, adding, “I will finally share my story the way that it should be shared.”