When Gypsy was a child, her mom Dee Dee told her that she suffered from leukemia and a host of other health issues. Gypsy revealed in a 20/20 interview that the only medical condition she actually has is a lazy eye.
However, Gypsy wasn't actually unwell — her mother had been lying about her symptoms. Experts believe Dee Dee's behavior stemmed from the mental disorder Munchausen syndrome by proxy; because Dee Dee wanted to be a caretaker, she feigned and induced illness in her daughter.
While not much is known about him personally, he was reportedly diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and a low-average IQ. He also had a run-in with the law in 2013 at the age of 23 when he was allegedly caught masturbating while watching pornography at a McDonald's, according to a local report on Patch.com.
In 2010, Dee Dee was telling everyone that Gypsy Rose was 14, but she was actually 19 years old. By then, she knew she wasn't as sick as her mother claimed — as she was well aware that she could walk.
But, according to a 2016 BuzzFeed News investigation on the true story, it's unclear whether Gypsy's teeth were rotting because of poor dental hygiene, malnutrition, or the medications she didn't need—or a combination of all three. Gypsy says a medication called Tegretol for epilepsy caused her "teeth to crumble."
In a 20/20 special, Gypsy revealed that Dee Dee told people she had leukemia, asthma, vision and hearing impairment, muscular dystrophy, and seizures. Gypsy believed most her mother's imposed illnesses to be true, but eventually began to figure out that many of her disabilities weren't real.
"It is possible that Gypsy Rose presents with puberphonia (high-pitched voice after birth), a class of psychogenic voice disorders," says Jayne Latz, an executive communication coach and president and founder of Corporate Speech Solutions.
The meeting did not go as planned—Dee Dee hated Godejohn—but Gypsy was still able to sneak away and lose her virginity to Godejohn in a bathroom stall, according to her testimony at his trial. According to ABC News, Dee Dee punished Gypsy after the movie theater incident.
Gypsy Blanchard used a wheelchair, allegedly mentally and physically disabled from a host of ailments, including a childhood bout of leukemia, muscular dystrophy, a seizure condition and asthma. As BuzzFeed reported in 2016, Dee Dee told friends and family the teenager Gypsy had the mind of a 7-year-old.
Gypsy never thought she was going to get caught
She was also seen expressing immediate regret at the murder of her mother, and was desperately attempting to cover her up.
While under the ever-watchful care of her mother, Gypsy was often bald because Dee Dee would regularly shave her hair so her daughter would look sick. Save for the time-hopped finale episode, Infinity doesn't have hair either. There's even a scene in which Nana is seen shaving her head.
Rod and Gypsy have reconnected since she's been in prison.
"It's a hundred times better, honestly," he said. "We email each other. She can call me anytime, and she does. I'm keeping tabs on all of her accomplishments in school.
One physician suspected that Dee Dee had Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a mental disorder in which a parent or other caretaker exaggerates, fabricates, or induces illness in a person under their care to obtain sympathy or attention.
Hulu's "The Act" is based on Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who is currently serving a 10-year sentence in a Missouri prison. Gypsy will be eligible for parole in 2023, when she's 32 years old. She is currently 27, though her real age was actually a mystery to her for most of her life—her mom Dee Dee kept it a secret from her.
"I found a couple bits of paper in my mom's safe, things that stated I was born in 1991 made me question my real age. I asked her about it, she said that it was a typo," Gypsy said. "I had taken those papers and the Medicaid card that I found with my actual real birthday on it, and I ran away from home."
In Hulu's new show, The Act, Dee Dee Blanchard says her daughter Gypsy Rose has a sugar allergy, in addition to many other health issues. Dee Dee says Gypsy's sugar allergy is so severe that it could kill her-but it turns out, Gypsy has no such allergy.
Traditionally, traveller kids leave education after primary school in order to learn 'traditional skills' at home. For boys, this means trades such as bricklaying or tree-cutting, as well as learning to do odd jobs.
Experts now believe that Dee Dee Blanchard suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a disorder in which an individual makes up medical issues for people in their care to gain attention. In 2016, Gypsy Rose Blanchard received 10 years in prison for second-degree murder.
Today, Gypsy Rose is almost unrecognizable as the same wheelchair-bound meek young girl who doctors and neighbors saw before her mother's death. She has false teeth where hers were previously removed and her hair is now grown out, whereas before Dee Dee had convinced her to keep it shaved off.
LIVINGSTON COUNTY, Mo. — Gypsy Rose Blanchard has tied the knot with Louisianan Ryan Scott Anderson despite still serving her 10-year prison sentence. The Livingston County Recorder of Deeds verified the marriage certificate between Blanchard, 30, and Anderson, 36, on July 21, 2022.
In the most recent episode of The Act, Dee Dee Blanchard is shown being arrested for writing a bad check. In reality, this never happened, but Dee Dee's family claim that she did write bad checks. It's also speculated that Dee Dee played a role in her mother's death and tried to poison her stepmom.
In Romania, it's illegal for underage minors to wed. But Roma gypsy communities continue to hold unofficial wedding ceremonies for children as young as 13.
Gypsy told him she had 30 different procedures, including multiple eye, leg and throat surgeries. Her salivary glands were also removed.
“I am Gypsy's father, Rod Blanchard. I too was led [sic] to believe Gypsy was sick her whole life,” he writes in his online petition to help Gypsy get her jail time reduced. “Dee Dee and I were married, then separated during her pregnancy.