Gypsy Rose Blanchard opens up about her life months after being released from prison, where she served time for the murder of her mother, Clauddinnea “Dee Dee” Blanchard, in 2015.
In an interview with ABC News, airing Thursday, Gypsy Rose Blanchard spoke to Juju Chang about her transition to normal life since her release from the Chillicothe Correctional Center on Thursday, December 28, 2023.
The controversial and complicated figure has amassed almost 10 million followers on TikTok alone since her release from prison, where she gives insight into her life – from filming makeup tutorials to sharing her secret prison recipes.
Asked about her decision to stay in the spotlight, she told Chang: “Sometimes I feel like I have no choice.”
“I mean, I think when it comes to social media, I think I wanted to be like everyone else – and have the right to freedom to have access to social media and interact with my friends in line,” she said. “I didn’t think I would have 9.8 million followers.”
In addition to attracting attention on social media, Gypsy Rose Blanchard also got a makeover, after having a nose job.
“I wanted to do it for myself, for my self-esteem, for what would make me feel beautiful about myself,” she shared of her decision, noting that she has always been very embarrassed by her nose.
During the conversation, Gypsy Rose Blanchard agreed when Chang said she was often described as “Munchausen’s victim or the murderer.”
Gypsy Rose Blanchard also spoke about what she thought the public reaction to her freedom would be.
“Quite honestly, I’m starting to feel like they want a perfect victim and there’s no such thing as a perfect victim,” she said. “In their minds, the perfect victim would have died. And now that I survived and the perpetrator of the abuse is the one who died, then I feel hatred.”
Tune in to “Nightline” at 12:35 a.m. ET to hear more from the interview.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard and her then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, were arrested in 2015 for the murder of “Dee Dee” Blanchard, who was found stabbed to death in her Springfield home.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and spent nearly nine years behind bars for her part in orchestrating her mother’s murder. Godejohn was sentenced to life in prison following his first-degree murder conviction and is still serving his time behind bars.
“Dee Dee” Blanchard allegedly abused her daughter by convincing her she was sick for years when she was not.
“Dee Dee” Blanchard portrayed Gypsy Rose Blanchard to audiences as a fragile, disabled child who suffered from multiple illnesses, including leukemia and muscular dystrophy, subjecting her to a life in a wheelchair, a feeding tube and surgeries useless.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard speaks out in her first TV interview after being released from prison
Based on a professional evaluation, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was deemed to be a victim of her mother’s psychological disorder, commonly referred to as “Munchausen syndrome by proxy”, where a parent seeks sympathy through exaggerated illnesses or illnesses. invented by his children.
As for her personal life, while still incarcerated in 2022, she married Ryan Anderson, who waited outside the prison after her release. Anderson wrote to Gypsy Rose Blanchard during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, their relationship fell apart after Gypsy Rose Blanchard filed for divorce in April.
Addressing the subject, she said: “I think people need to understand that Ryan and I were in a relationship for three years. And in those three years, we went through a lot of ups and downs. And sometimes relationships It just takes time.” his courses.”
When asked if there was any truth to reports that she was afraid of Anderson, she replied, “I’m not afraid of Ryan.”
“I think there were some things that happened that we both wish hadn’t happened,” she continued, adding that she didn’t regret the relationship but regretted getting married then that she was still in prison.
Meanwhile, in a statement to ABC News, Anderson’s attorney said: “All allegations of abuse made against Mr. Anderson are false and categorically denied, and we consider any such allegations to be defamatory in nature. ”
In January, Gypsy Rose Blanchard shared more details about her life in a Lifetime documentary series called “The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard.”
Hot on the heels of the documentary, Lifetime announced the premiere date for a new eight-episode documentary series titled “Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up,” which will premiere June 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
The new series follows Gypsy Rose Blanchard as she lives life as a free woman, including reconnecting with her family and finally living with Anderson for the first time, according to a press release from the network.
Moving forward, she strives to make peace with her past, including her late mother.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard received backlash after mentioning her mother “Dee Dee” Blanchard in a Mother’s Day celebration post.
In the post which has now been deleted, she said: “We must remember that my own biological mother is not here.”
While discussing the event with “GMA,” Gypsy Rose Blanchard said, “I wanted to honor her memory. And if I get hate for it, so be it.”
Acknowledging that she would always be seen as someone who contributed to her mother’s murder, she explained, “I deal with my own guilt on a daily basis. And so it’s not like I could ever hide from it.”
“But I don’t know if people want me to curl up in a ball and start crying all the time. I can’t live that way. I have to heal myself,” she added.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard also returned to live with her father and stepmother, Kristy Blanchard, whom she called her mother.
Gushing over her, she said Kristy Blanchard “was the only person I knew without a doubt had my best interests at heart.”
In an interview with “GMA,” Kristy Blanchard echoed a similar sentiment about her stepdaughter, saying that Gypsy Rose Blanchard had “traveled a long way” and that “she was no longer a sweet little girl “.
As for what motherly advice she would give to her daughter-in-law, she shared, “What you don’t know doesn’t hurt you.”
“What people say about her shows their character pretty well,” Kristy Blanchard said. “And just know in her heart that the people who know her and love her know the truth.”
Kristy Blanchard added, “The truth is, she’s remarkable.”
“Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up” premieres June 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime.