Gypsy Rose Blanchard speaks out in 1st TV interview after being released from prison
Gypsy Rose Blanchard is speaking out about her freedom since being released from prison last month after serving time for the murder of her mother Clauddinnea "Dee Dee" Blanchard in 2015.
Speaking to "Good Morning America'' in a sit-down interview with Deborah Roberts which aired on Friday, Gypsy Blanchard, who was released from the Chillicothe Correctional Center on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023, recalled the experience of stepping out of the prison walls for the first time.
"I felt a little bit like I was dropped in a different world," she said. "Because you don't realize how much you're restricted in prison. I felt like I was in a black-and-white world and I just stepped into technicolor. It was amazing."
Gypsy Blanchard spent nearly 9 years behind bars for her participation in orchestrating the murder of her mother, who was found stabbed to death in her home in Springfield, Missouri.
"Dee Dee" Blanchard allegedly abused her daughter by convincing her she was sick for years since she was a child when she wasn't.
"Dee Dee" Blanchard portrayed Gypsy Blanchard to the public as a frail, disabled child who suffered from multiple illnesses including leukemia and muscular dystrophy, subjecting her to a life in a wheelchair, a feeding tube and unnecessary surgeries.
Based on assessment from professionals, Gypsy Blanchard was deemed as a victim of her mother's psychological disorder, commonly known as "Munchausen syndrome by proxy," in which parents seek sympathy through the exaggerated or made-up illnesses of their children.
During the interview, Gypsy Blanchard, who is now 32, looked back at the early transition of her life from living with her mother to behind bars, telling Roberts, "Honestly [it] wasn't that much of a difference."
"But I also had more freedom in prison than I ever had with my mother," she said.
When Roberts showed Gypsy Blanchard the picture of her younger self before she went to prison, she responded, "I don't even associate with that little girl anymore."
"Like, I know that's me. But at the same time, that isn't me anymore," she added.
Despite the pain her mother had put her through, Gypsy Blanchard said she believed "Dee Dee" Blanchard wasn't a "monster" like she was portrayed to the public.
"She had a lot of demons herself that she was struggling with," she explained. "I didn't want her dead. I just wanted out of my situation. And I thought that was the only way out."
In 2015, Gypsy Blanchard and her boyfriend at the time, Nicholas Godejohn, whom she met online, were arrested for the murder of her mom.
As a result, Gypsy Blanchard was sentenced to 10 years after pleading guilty to second-degree murder while Godejohn, who carried out the attack, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Reflecting on the event, she said, "I'm sure that we both have a lot of regrets. All I can really say is that I did my time. He's doing his time for his part. And I wish him well on his journey."
During her stay in prison, her story garnered sympathy and fascination from the public to the point that it was portrayed in multiple documentaries and a drama series called, "The Act."
Ready to open up more about her past, Gypsy Blanchard will now be sharing more details on her life in a Lifetime docuseries, entitled, "The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard."
Gypsy Blanchard said she is trying to share her story "to bring awareness to mental health issues, to Munchausen by proxy, to abuse victims."
She also told "GMA" that she hoped her story would serve as a "cautionary tale" for others.
"So that the next person that might be in a situation like mine, they don't take the route that I did," she said.
In the docuseries, Gypsy Blanchard also touched on a personal subject involving her addiction to painkillers which she said took her "down a really dark path," adding that she felt like "it was my only way to cope for a time."
She also confessed that she was high when she decided to take part in the killing of her mom which she didn't consider as an excuse, saying, "I don't blame drugs. I don't blame anything."
Now sober, she said, she hasn't used the substance in 4 years, adding, "And I don't feel the need to."
Her journey had put her in the spotlight, amassing a huge following on her social media platforms with over six million followers on her Instagram account alone.
Gypsy Blanchard said the fame made her feel "conflicted" and is not something she's looking for.
"I always said I think I'm infamous and that I came out famous," she explained. "There is this massive amount of support. And I appreciate that. But I'm dealing with a lot of self-guilt and regrets myself. So it's a battle going on in my heart and in my mind."
Asked if she had been enjoying the attention she received, Gypsy Blanchard said she's a very shy person.
"I don't think that I'm doing anything that anybody else wouldn't do. I'm being myself," she said.
In 2022, while still being incarcerated, she married her now husband, Ryan Anderson, who waited outside the prison after her release. Anderson wrote to Gypsy Blanchard during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, they're together physically for the first time.
"We call it newly-together-weds," Anderson told Roberts.
Noting that their lives are "pretty hectic" right now, Gypsy Blanchard said she and Anderson have talked about starting a family, adding, "We just don't know when at this point."
When asked if her relationship with Anderson is her "happily ever after," Blanchard said, "I had to kiss a couple frogs to get to this one handsome face."
"The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard'' premieres tonight at 8 p.m. on Lifetime.
