This week saw the release of Gypsy-Rose Blanchard-Anderson from prison, a young woman who was told repeatedly (and falsely) by her mother, Clauddinnea 'Dee Dee' Blanchard, that she was extremely sick as a child, going on to receive numerous unnecessary medical treatments.
At one point, Gypsy-Rose was forced to use a wheelchair and an oxygen tank without requiring either and was told that she had leukemia. Her mother convinced doctors that her medical records were lost in a hurricane.
After a lifetime of being subjected to her mother's munchausen-by-proxy, in 2015 Gypsy-Rose met a man, Nicholas Godejohn, on a Christian dating site, who agreed to murder Dee Dee, ending Gypsy-Rose's regime of hospital visits and isolation at a great emotional cost. Gypsy-Rose provided the murder weapon.
Following the murder, Gypsy-Rose and Dee Dee's joint Facebook account then posted a status saying "the b*tch is dead". The case captured media attention and shortly after, Gypsy-Rose plead guilty and was sentenced to serve ten years for second-degree murder. Godejohn was issued a life sentence for first-degree murder.
In a recent interview with People magazine, Gypsy-Rose said she will never be glad about her mother's death, despite the abuse she was subjected to. "Nobody will ever hear me say I'm glad she's dead or I'm proud of what I did. I regret it every single day."
Now aged 32, Gypsy-Rose has recently been released from prison two years before her sentence was due to end and has taken to posting updates on her progress to her 4 million followers on Instagram, including a mirror selfie captioned "First selfie of freedom!"
Her Instagram account handle is @gypsyrose_a_blanchard and her bio reads "Public Figure, Public Speaker, Author, Advocating Awareness about Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy".
She also uploaded a picture of herself with her step-sister, Mia, titled "Sister Love 💕". In the background, gold balloons can be seen spelling out the words 'welcome home'.
A further post showed Gypsy-Rose kissing her husband, Ryan Anderson, who she wed whilst incarcerated. "A New Years Eve Eve kiss with my hubby 💕"
A Lifetime TV three-part series, The Prison Confessions of Gypsy-Rose Blanchard, is due to air 5 January in the United States. Gypsy-Rose's memoir is also due out next month.
You can pre-order Gypsy-Rose's book here:
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
