Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the subject of the HBO documentary film Mommy Dead and Dearest and Hulu’s true crime drama The Act, has spoken out for the first time since her release from prison on Thursday, December 28, 2023.
“I’m finally free,” Blanchard said in a video posted to her TikTok and Instagram accounts on Sunday, December 31. “I just wanted to send a quick video to thank everyone for the massive amount of support that I’ve been getting on social media. Everyone has been really, really nice and supportive, and I really appreciate that.”
Blanchard was released from prison on Thursday morning after serving seven years of a 10-year sentence for second-degree murder in connection with the death of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard. She and her then-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn were accused of stabbing Dee Dee to death in June 2015. Godejohn is serving a life sentence.
The story of Blanchard and her mother came to light in a 2016 BuzzFeed article and subsequent HBO documentary film. For many years, Dee Dee convinced people that her daughter was terminally ill with the mind of a 7-year-old and suffered from various ailments and illnesses, including muscular dystrophy and leukemia.
“It’s nice to be home,” Blanchard continued in her social media video. “I’m back home in Louisiana, enjoying a beautiful day outside, and I’ve got a lot of great things happening really soon.”
One of those things is reuniting with her husband, Louisiana special education teacher Ryan Anderson, whom she married while in prison. On Sunday, Blanchard shared a photo of her wedding ring on Instagram, captioning the pic, “Finally get to wear my beautiful wedding ring I love you @ryan_s_anderson_.”
Blanchard shared another video later in the day, letting her followers know she was at home celebrating New Year’s Eve with her family. “I have my dad and my step-mom Christy here and, of course, my husband, so we’re looking to ring in the new year together,” she said. “It’s gonna be really awesome to have some family time after so long.”
Viewers will be able to learn more about Blanchard’s life and time in prison in Lifetime’s upcoming docuseries, The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, which premieres on January 5.
Speaking in another video about the series, Blanchard shared, “It’s not a rehashing of everything that happened; it’s more of my reflection of everything that I’ve learned and experienced in the last eight and a half years.”
The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, Premieres, Friday, January 5, 8/7 c, Lifetime