How Gypsy Rose Blanchard went from convicted murderer of mother with Munchausen by proxy to overnight internet sensation

Gypsy Rose Blanchard has become an overnight internet sensation since being released from prison, where she had been locked up for her role in the murder of her mother.

Experts believe Gypsy's mother, Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard, had been suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy.

WebMD defines Munchausen syndrome by proxy as a "psychological disorder marked by attention-seeking behavior by a caregiver through those who are in their care," where the caretaker seeks to "gain attention by seeking medical help for exaggerated or made-up symptoms of a child in their care."

Dee Dee convinced Gypsy that she had been suffering from serious illnesses, including leukemia, muscular dystrophy, and asthma.

The mother allegedly forced Gypsy to use a wheelchair despite her being capable of walking. Dee Dee also coerced her daughter to use a feeding tube. Gypsy underwent unwarranted medical procedures and unnecessary medication because her mother allegedly told doctors that her daughter was always sick. Dee Dee also shaved hair off Gypsy's head, had some of her teeth removed, and had doctors remove her salivary glands. Dee Dee also allegedly chained Gypsy to her bed.

Dee Dee even lied about Gypsy's age to make it easier to perpetuate the ruse.

Speaking about her mother's Munchausen syndrome by proxy, Gypsy told People magazine, "I really feel like it was something psychological, that if she could have gotten therapy — she was diagnosed with bipolar and schizophrenia when she was a little younger, and so she was not taking medication for that."

"And so perhaps, if maybe she was on her meds, maybe things would've been different," Gypsy added. "But I can't focus on the 'could have, shoulda have, would've,' because I'll get too deep into that rabbit hole. But I think that's why it's so important for me now, to take what has happened and the choice that I made to commit murder was never the right choice."

Gypsy grew tired of her mother forcing her to pretend to be sick all of the time.

In 2015, Blanchard and her then-boyfriend plotted to murder her mother at their home in Missouri.

Gypsy, 24 years old at the time, provided a knife for her boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, to use to kill Dee Dee. Meanwhile, Gypsy hid it in the bathroom as Godejohn stabbed her mother to death.

The couple fled the crime scene and boarded a bus but were later arrested in Wisconsin.

Gypsy was initially charged with first-degree murder – which meant she would face life in prison. However, Blanchard made a deal to plead guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson said at the time of Gypsy's sentencing, "While the evidence in this case clearly established that Gypsy Blanchard was guilty of murder and that the murder was neither justifiable nor excusable, the amended charge and 10-year sentence fairly and justly holds Gypsy Blanchard accountable to the law while also taking into account the extreme mitigating circumstances of the nearly two decades of systematic and purposeful abuse of Gypsy Blanchard by her mother to facilitate her mother’s fraudulent schemes."

Godejohn, 32, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2019.

After serving 85% of her original sentence, Blanchard was granted parole and was released last Thursday from the Chillicothe Correctional Center in Missouri.

Blanchard was picked up by her husband, Ryan Anderson. He was driving a car with a wrestling-themed Bret Hart license plate that read: "HITMAN." The pair got married last year while she was incarcerated.

Blanchard has become an overnight internet sensation, garnering millions of followers.

Gypsy has over 6.4 million followers on Instagram and more than 6.5 million followers on TikTok.

Blanchard's story has captivated millions of true-crime fanatics and has been retold in multiple documentaries, a docuseries, and an upcoming book.

Gypsy said of her mother, "She was a sick woman, and unfortunately I wasn't educated enough to see that. She deserved to be where I am, sitting in prison doing time for criminal behavior."

Blanchard explained, "It's a journey, but I'm starting to feel more forgiveness in understanding that it is something that maybe was out of her control. Maybe it was like an addict with an impulse, and that it was not consciously malicious. And I think that helps me with coping and accepting what happened."

Gypsy told The Hollywood Reporter that she has spent her time out of prison reconnecting with her father and stepmother.

Blanchard's advice to victims of caretakers suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy:

I think I would just like to share that you’re not alone. Somebody will listen to you. If you have a friend, even one friend, or even if you just go up to someone at the grocery store and tell somebody, 'Listen, I think I’m in a bad situation right now and I would need some help. Can you help me?' It’s what I wish I would have done. I regret how things had turned out for me. I regret the choices that I made, and I wish I would have had someone give me that kind of message before I did what I did.

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Sneak Peek: Gypsy’s Story | The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard | Lifetimewww.youtube.com