Gypsy Rose Blanchard is opening up in her first sit-down TV interview since being released from prison.
Appearing on Good Morning America on Friday, the 32-year-old reflected on her newfound freedom and the “regrets” she has about her past. For starters, the victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy said this of stepping out of jail in late December after serving over half her sentence:
“I felt a little bit like I was dropped in a different world. 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.”
She was also greeted by her husband Ryan Anderson. So that was a good perk, too!
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If you don’t know, Gypsy was sentenced to ten years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder for orchestrating her mother Clauddinne “Dee Dee” Blanchard‘s killing in 2015. She had conspired with her boyfriend at the time, Nicholas Godejohn, who got life in prison without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder. When asked whether she thinks it’s “fair” that she is now walking free and he never will, Gypsy replied:
“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.”
It’s definitely been a journey for her, too. After years of undergoing unnecessary surgeries and being forced to use a wheelchair and a feeding tube while her mother portrayed her as a frail, disabled child despite not actually suffering real medical concerns, Gypsy admitted going to jail was a step up for her in some ways, explaining:
“Honestly [it] wasn’t that much of a difference. […] But I also had more freedom in prison than I ever had with my mother.”
That’s wild. When shown a photo of her younger self and Dee Dee, she candidly reflected:
“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.”
Despite everything she went through, she somehow still has empathy for her late mother, insisting she wasn’t a “monster” like she’s been made out to be. The former prisoner expressed:
“She had a lot of demons herself that she was struggling with. I didn’t want her dead. I just wanted out of my situation. And I thought that was the only way out.”
Jeez. So sad she thought that was her only option…
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The criminal-turned-media sensation is set to break down even more about her life in the upcoming Lifetime docuseries The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, which will begin airing on Friday night. And it’ll come with some big reveals — like the fact she was addicted to painkillers. Opening up about this with GMA, she said drugs took her “down a really dark path,” but they were also her “only way to cope for a time.”
And, yes, she was on them when she came up with the plan to have her parent killed! Jeez. Despite being high at the time, she is adamant that wasn’t an excuse for her actions:
“I don’t blame drugs. I don’t blame anything.”
Very mature of her, honestly. Gypsy has now been sober for 4 years and added that she doesn’t “feel the need to” use substances. As for why she’s going so public with her story now, she hopes her life will be a “cautionary tale” and “bring awareness to mental health issues, to Munchausen by proxy, to abuse victims,” adding:
“So that the next person that might be in a situation like mine, they don’t take the route that I did.”
And, yeah, she’s not ignorant to the fact that some might find her popularity and fame strange. Even she is “conflicted” about it! The Released author noted:
“I always said I think I’m infamous and that I came out famous. 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.”
Noting that she’s a shy person, she defended herself:
“I don’t think that I’m doing anything that anybody else wouldn’t do. I’m being myself.”
As for what the future holds? She and her hubby are enjoying getting to be together physically for the first time — and we all know she’s LOVING his D game, LOLz! But when the “hectic” aspect of her release subsides, she’s thinking of becoming a mother herself. Ryan shared:
“We just don’t know when at this point.”
Wow. That would be pretty full circle. Hear her reveal all this and more (below):
Thoughts? Share them all in the comments (below)!
[Image via Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department & Lifetime/GMA/YouTube]
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