Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the child abuse victim who was convicted of killing her mother, apologized to people offended by her "lack of accountability" in her social media posts and media appearances during the first month she was released from prison.
"I'm sorry. I'm learning. I take accountability for my part," Blanchard said in a TikTok. "I did a bad thing. But I've also been given a second chance at life. So please give me a little grace. Let my actions match my words, and we'll go from there."
Blanchard, who was released three years early from her 10-year prison sentence for murdering her mother Dee Dee Blanchard, posted a series of TikToks on Thursday addressing her first month out of prison.
"When that day finally came, I'm not gonna lie, feeling freedom for the first time felt amazing," she said. "Everybody was so supportive at first, and it felt nice. I'm going to be honest, I got carried away in the hype of everything."
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She said that she had to promote her new documentary series and e-book in New York City, and that she said some things in interviews that "confused a lot of people," specifically mentioning when she said she didn't identify as a murderer on the "Viall Files" podcast.
"It's not like I'm gonna go to a job interview and be like, 'Hi, my name is Gypsy Blanchard and I'm an M-word.' That's all I meant by it," she explained. "I meant that my past is not defined my future. My future is when I make it.
She added: "I know that I did something wrong in my crime and that's something that I have to live with. That's my cross to bear."
Blanchard also explained why she deleted her Instagram account, which had more than 7 million followers, after having a conversation with her father Rob Blanchard.
"He gave me some guidance that I feel like it really needed and that guidance was to just show me that real life is something you could touch, something that you would feel, people that you would actually hug," she said. "And with the public scrutiny as bad as it is. I just don't want to live my life under a microscope."
She added that she felt she didn't understand why she had a following for her crime, and that she wants to be known as herself, not for what she did in her past.
"I don’t see myself as famous, especially for for what? Like, I did something bad. And I mean, I’m trying to make myself a better person now but I don’t get it," she said.
"Am I guilty of my crime? Yes, I am. But I don’t feel like I can’t be given a second chance to do better," she added.
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She said she plans to keep her TikTok account, and that she created a new verified Instagram account that she has made private, before addressing her supporters.
"I appreciate all the people that have walked this journey with me," she said. "But at the end of the day, I'm gonna have to walk away and start living a private life, and that takes steps right? One step at a time."
Blanchard concluded: "I do feel regret, but I'm trying to take steps forward."
The 32-year-old appeared to delete her Instagram and X accounts on March 10, months after she was released from prison in December 2023. Here's what to know about her case.
Who is Gypsy Rose Blanchard?
Gypsy Rose Blanchard and her then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, were arrested in 2015 in connection to the murder of Blanchard's mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, who was found stabbed to death in her home in Springfield, Missouri.
In 2016, Blanchard was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in the the murder of her mother. Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s then-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn was also convicted for carrying out the attack.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard is believed to have been a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a psychological disorder in which a caretaker makes someone ill or creates the illusion of them being ill in order to receive attention, the Springfield News-Leader reported.
On the stand, Gypsy Rose Blanchard described how her mother took her to doctors throughout her life to treat her for various conditions, including leukemia and muscular dystrophy, that she never actually had.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard detailed how her mother forced her to use both a wheelchair and an oxygen tank although she required neither, according to the Springfield News-Leader.
In a televised interview with Dr. Phil McGraw in 2017, Blanchard expressed her regret over her mother’s death.
“I have to pray to forgive my mother, but right now the hardest thing is to forgive myself,” she said.
During her trial, Gypsy Rose Blanchard admitted that she arranged for Godejohn to travel to the family’s home in Springfield to kill her mother, according to Ozarks First.
After the murder, the couple traveled to Godejohn's home in Wisconsin, where they were arrested days later.
What did Gypsy Rose Blanchard's mother do to her?
Dee Dee Blanchard appeared to have had Munchhausen syndrome by proxy, a psychological disorder in which a caretaker makes someone ill or creates the illusion of them being ill in order to receive attention.
Dee Dee Blanchard "was convinced Gypsy suffered from a wide range of health issues," according to Ozarks First. She took her daughter to various specialists to get treatment for her alleged ailments, "including prescriptions for anti-seizure medication and surgeries."
In addition to forcing her daughter to use a wheelchair and an oxygen tank, neither of which she needed, Dee Dee Blanchard shaved her daughter's head and forced her to eat through a feeding tube, Gypsy Rose Blanchard told McGraw in their 2017 interview.
After Hurricane Katrina, the mother-daughter duo relocated to Aurora, Missouri, where Dee Dee Blanchard told doctors her ailing daughter's medical records had been destroyed by the hurricane, according to Ozarks First.
A local Habitat for Humanity group built a wheelchair-accessible house in Springfield for the Blanchards in 2008.
The mother and daughter were also the subject of donations and gifts, including a trip to Disney World, from various charitable groups in the community.
The pair also met country singer Miranda Lambert through the Make-a-Wish Foundation, Ozarks First reported.
Didn't doctors suspect that Dee Dee Blanchard was lying?
Some doctors pushed back on Dee Dee Blanchard's claims of her daughter's various illnesses.
Dr. Bernardo Flasterstein, a neurologist in Missouri, began to suspect Dee Dee Blanchard's claim that her daughter had been diagnosed with muscular dystrophy in Louisiana when he noticed no abnormalities in her MRIs and blood tests, Ozarks First reported.
Flasterstein contacted Gypsy Rose Blanchard's doctors in Louisiana and learned her original original muscle biopsy to test for MS came back negative.
Were Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Nicholas Godejohn both convicted of murder?
Nicholas Godejohn was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison after first pleading not guilty. He stabbed Dee Dee Blanchard to death while Gypsy Rose Blanchard hid in a bathroom.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard made a deal with Greene County prosecutor Dan Patterson, who took into account the abuse she had suffered at her mother’s hand, reported Ozarks First.
She pled guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
When was Gypsy Rose Blanchard originally going to be released from prison?
Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s release in December came after she served seven years of her original 10-year sentence, the Missouri Department of Corrections confirmed to TODAY.com.
Blanchard was released from the Chillicothe Correctional Center in Chillicothe, Missouri, on Dec. 28 at 3:30 a.m., a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Corrections said, three years before her original release date.
In a pre-release interview, Gypsy Rose Blanchard told People that she hopes to build a social media following to “create change.”
“I feel like I have been blessed with a platform and the ability to possibly create change, and that is what I’m trying to do,” she told the publication.
The bio of Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s verified Instagram account stated on Dec. 31, 2023, that she was “advocating awareness about Munchausen syndrome by proxy.”
“The choice that I made to commit murder was never the right choice,” she told People. “So my mission now is to take what I’ve done and what (my mom) did and make it worth something. So I think it’s really important for me to get out as much awareness about Munchausen by proxy as I can and really try to focus in on mental health.”
What has Gypsy Rose Blanchard done since her release from prison?
On Dec. 29, Blanchard shared her first post to Instagram since her release the day before, a mirror photo that appears to be taken at a place she’s residing. “First selfie of freedom!” she captioned the picture.
That same day, Blanchard was photographed in public for the first time since her release. She appeared to be shopping with her husband, Ryan Scott Anderson, 37, whom she married in 2022 while in prison, according to a marriage license obtained by TODAY.com.
She shared a photo of her and Anderson kissing on Instagram Dec. 30.
“A New Years Eve Eve kiss with my hubby,” she captioned the pic.
Asked by paparazzi if she has immediate plans for the future, she replied, “Lots of ‘em.”
She also has written a book called “Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom,” which was published in January.
Were there TV specials about the case?
In 2017, HBO aired a documentary about the Blanchard's case, called "Mommy Dead and Dearest." The film included interviews with both Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Nick Godejohn.
In 2018, Investigation Discovery aired “Gypsy’s Revenge,” a two-hour special documentary about the case that featured interviews with Blanchard and Godejohn.
In 2019, Hulu aired an eight-part true crime series inspired by the case starring Joey King as Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Patricia Arquette as Dee Dee Blanchard.
The same year, Lifetime aired a movie dramatizing the case as “inspired by true events” called "Love You To Death."
Gypsy Rose gave a statement to Bustle after the release of “The Act,” saying, “I am unable to watch The Act. However, I feel it is very unfair and unprofessional that producers and co-producer Michelle Dean has used my actual name and story without my consent, and the life rights to do so. Therefore, there will be legal action taken against the show’s creators. I want to share my story and bring awareness about Munchausen by proxy, in the hopes that I can encourage those who might be experiencing abuse to speak up, because someone WILL listen. No child should ever be abused especially from their parent.”
Dean, who wrote the viral Buzzfeed article about Gypsy Rose Blanchard and created "The Act," said to Elle, "The show’s not a work of journalism." She continued, "You don’t need to pick up any information from it, but we thought the entire show should be grounded in the emotional journeys of the characters."
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
