By: Rory Zeman & Jane Wilde
Culture Editors
After nine years, the Chillicothe Correctional Facility in Missouri released Gypsy Rose Blanchard. Blanchard’s newfound freedom went viral, sparking interest in the young woman’s unique history. Blanchard’s story first gained fame from the popular documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest and HBO’s award-winning series The Act. These narratives follow Blanchard and her abusive mother Dee-Dee, who for Blanchard’s entire life, made her believe she had countless health issues including leukemia, muscular dystrophy, and paralysis, when in reality she was perfectly healthy. For Blanchard’s many issues, Dee-Dee received a house, annual checks, and various accolades in Blanchard’s name. When Blanchard became aware of her mother’s falsehoods, she participated in the murder of her mother.
Many were fascinated with Blanchard’s story, leading to The Act and other documentaries. Despite the series’ success and seemingly accurate depiction of Blanchard’s life, when asked by Access Hollywood if she’d seen the show, Blanchard replied, “I lived it, it was my life, I don’t feel like I have to go back and watch it played out.”
After her release, Blanchard took to social media, racking up millions of followers on various social media platforms, namely Instagram and TikTok. On said accounts, Blanchard discusses her gratitude for her wide base of supporters and snippets of her post-prison life. Blanchard also participated in a multitude of news interviews, with the first being her appearance on ABC News. In the interview, Blanchard opened up about her release, stating, “I felt a little bit like I was dropped in a different world.” Blanchard also mentioned how “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.”
Blanchard moved back to her home state of Louisiana with her husband Ryan Anderson, whom she wedded in 2022 during her imprisonment. The two fostered a relationship during the pandemic when Anderson wrote her letters via the prison’s pen pal system, and they were able to arrange a marriage inside the correctional facility. Anderson, a middle school special education teacher, is still adjusting to all the fame surrounding himself and Blanchard. However, he told the Viall Files podcast, “It’s all worth it to be with her.”
Blanchard’s newest Lifetime docuseries, The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, has been a prominent topic of discussion in many of Blanchard’s interviews. In the series, Blanchard discusses how her mother’s actions, although abusive, did not make her as evil as public opinion portrays her and how she feels some guilt for her murder: “I didn’t want her dead. I just wanted out of my situation.” However, Blanchard hopes that the series will give viewers a full picture of the story and “bring awareness to mental health issues, to Munchausen by proxy, to abuse victims.”
(Sources: ABC, People)