Prosecutors cut a deal with Gypsy, however, because of the horrific abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother. In exchange for pleading guilty to second-degree murder, Gypsy was sentenced to the minimum of 10 years in prison.
This resulted in two caseworkers visiting their home, but Dee Dee convinced them there was nothing wrong. As Gypsy grew older, Dee Dee began to lie about her age, going so far as to alter the dates on Gypsy's birth certificate to make her daughter seem younger.
In 2016, Gypsy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Two years later, Nicholas was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
After years of abuse from her mother, experts believed she suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, Gypsy was forced to act like she was a sickly, wheelchair-bound child to gain attention and charity from local organizations.
Let's take a deeper look..
Gypsy Rose was found guilty of killing her mother Dee Dee Blanchard in 2018. Dee Dee was found dead at their home in 2015 and Gypsy Rose was sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison.
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.
Gypsy lost her virginity to him in a movie theater bathroom.
This particularly extraordinary moment from The Act's fifth episode is played out just how it happened in real life.
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.
Gypsy Rose
When she did, she told BuzzFeed reporter Michelle Dean that she had been able to research Munchausen syndrome by proxy on prison computers, and her mother had every symptom. "I think she would have been the perfect mom for someone that actually was sick", she said.
Experts say that Gypsy Rose was the victim of a condition previously known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy—now referred to as factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA)—a mental health disorder where a caregiver makes up or causes an illness or injury to a person under their care for attention and sympathy.
According to the American Dental Association, dental extractions occur when the teeth are severely decayed, damaged, or diseased. It's unclear why Gypsy's teeth decayed, but it's likely a combination of poor dental hygiene, malnutrition, and the many unnecessary medications she was taking.
She was 19 at the time (though she and her mother claimed she was 15) and the man was 35. He took Gypsy back to his hotel room, but Dee Dee found them and presented paperwork stating that Gypsy was a minor.
She'd found her real birth certificate — the 1991 one — and asked her mom about it. Dee Dee said it was a typo. But Gypsy knew something was up when her Medicaid card matched the 1991 birthdate too. "Everything that she ever told me was a lie," Gypsy said to Dr.
She hoped that Dee Dee might allow them to date if she thought they met for the first time in person. They decided to meet at a movie theater to see Cinderella. Blanchard said her mother hated him. Regardless, she was able to sneak away and lose her virginity to Godejohn in a bathroom stall.
And immediately after treating her like a literal child, Dee Dee is angry right back because Gypsy has started her period early. The offense was apparently that Gypsy didn't immediately alert her mother to this fact. Also, it's not exactly as if Dee Dee has made Gypsy very self sufficient after all these years.
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.
Factitious disorder imposed on another (previously called Munchausen syndrome by proxy) is when someone falsely claims that another person has physical or psychological signs or symptoms of illness, or causes injury or disease in another person with the intention of deceiving others.
Dee Dee Blanchard kept Gypsy's head shaved and forced her to use a wheelchair even though there was nothing wrong with her legs. Dee Dee Blanchard also convinced a physician to put a feeding tube into Gypsy and would tell people that Gypsy was mentally incompetent.
She tied the knot in Missouri with Ryan Scott Anderson on June 27. The murder of Gypsy's mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, was detailed in the Hulu series The Act.
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.
According to Gypsy Rose, she knew she could walk and eat real food, but that was it. Per the fascinating Buzzfeed article that inspired The Act (the author, Michelle Dean, is the co-creator of the show):
Yes. Fact-checking The Act revealed this to be true. Gypsy claimed that Dee Dee tied her to the bed for two weeks after she tried to run away. The difference from the TV show is that it only happened once in real life (after running away to be with the guy she met at the sci-fi convention).
For Gypsy, she's made it clear that she no longer has any romantic feelings for Nick in interviews, eventually learning the fairy tale love stories she grew up obsessed with are just that: fairy tales. "In the Disney movies, everything's a fantasy, it's a fairy tale.
The show cuts to Gypsy waking up from the procedure, her mouth bloodied and bruised-and completely toothless. To make matters worse, Gypsy must later be honored at a Child Of The Year ceremony (later, Dee Dee surprises Gypsy with a new set of teeth, just moments before she was supposed to go on stage).
Gypsy Rose is serving a 10-year prison sentence for second-degree murder (Godejohn got life in prison). It appears that Woodmansee is getting married. But she's still in touch with her old friend. Woodmansee was optimistic about Gypsy Rose's disposition after visiting her in prison.