SPRINGFIELD, Missouri – Gypsy-Rose Blanchard, who gained international attention for her involvement in her mother’s murder, has been released from prison after serving 8 1/2 years of a 10-year sentence. Now free, Gypsy-Rose is finding her voice and has garnered a significant following on social media, eager to hear her side of the story. In an upcoming docuseries called “The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard,” she shares her experiences of medical, emotional, and physical abuse at the hands of her mother, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, and explains why she felt murder was her only escape.
Dee Dee’s elaborate deception included falsely proclaiming that Gypsy-Rose had leukemia, shaving her head, confining her to a wheelchair, and subjecting her to unnecessary medical procedures. The shocking story was previously explored in HBO’s 2017 documentary “Mommy Dead and Dearest” and Hulu’s 2019 limited series “The Act.” Gypsy-Rose’s boyfriend at the time, Nick Godejohn, carried out the murder of Dee Dee in 2015, which Gypsy-Rose claims she urged him to do.
For the docuseries, filmmakers spent 18 months recording Gypsy-Rose’s life and backstory while she was incarcerated at the Chillicothe Correctional Center in Missouri. The series features interviews with Gypsy-Rose’s father, stepmother, her maternal grandfather, and her pediatrician to shed light on the extent of the abuse she endured.
One of the revelations from the docuseries is the fabrication of Gypsy-Rose’s health issues. As a young child, Dee Dee claimed her daughter had leukemia, and later insisted she had a seizure disorder, muscular dystrophy, and a history of cancer. However, Gypsy-Rose’s pediatrician, Dr. Robert Steele, never saw any evidence supporting these diagnoses. Gypsy-Rose also underwent a surgery to remove her salivary glands, which caused her to lose several teeth, a consequence she attributes to her mother’s actions.
Additionally, Gypsy-Rose claims that her maternal grandfather, Claude Pitre, molested her while she stayed with him following Dee Dee’s car accident. Pitre denies the allegations and suggests that Gypsy-Rose’s mother planted the idea in her mind. Despite the defense, Gypsy-Rose maintains that the abuse did happen.
Before Dee Dee’s death, Gypsy-Rose attempted to escape her mother’s control by planning to flee with a man named Dan. It was during this time that Gypsy-Rose discovered she was actually 19 years old, not 15 as her mother had led her to believe.
The docuseries promises to provide further revelations about Gypsy-Rose’s life and the events leading up to the murder. It offers a chance for her to share her perspective on the extraordinary circumstances that captivated the nation.