On Dec. 28, 2023, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was released from eight years of prison after pleading guilty in 2016 to conspiring with her boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, to kill her mother. Just three weeks later, Blanchard had 9.8 million followers on TikTok and 8.3 million followers on Instagram.
Blanchard grew up with her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard. To many people, Dee Dee seemed like a devoted mother figure who constantly aided her sick daughter. However, in reality, Dee Dee was making false diagnoses about Gypsy’s health, including diagnoses of leukemia, seizures, sleep apnea, asthma, and more. It seems as though Dee Dee’s behavior relates to the mental disorder Munchausen syndrome by proxy. As described by the United Kingdom National Health Service, Munchausen syndrome by proxy is a “psychological condition where someone pretends to be ill or deliberately produces symptoms of illness in themselves.”
Dee Dee would go as far as to stop seeing doctors who questioned her daughter’s health, give Gypsy specific drugs to mimic certain symptoms, move away when outside family mentioned the wheelchair that Gypsy didn’t seem to need, and change Gypsy’s age to appear younger. Dee Dee even claimed to be a victim of Hurricane Katrina, and with help from Habitat for Humanity, moved from Louisiana to Missouri. This claim provided a substantial excuse for Dee Dee to “lose” some of Gypsy’s medical files.
Dee Dee continued to keep Gypsy’s state of health under wraps to receive attention and sympathy from others, but it was becoming more difficult as Gypsy became a teenager. In 2011, Gypsy ran away from her Springfield house with a man she met at a science fiction convention. However, Dee Dee soon tracked them down and brought her home, allegedly smashing Gypsy’s computer and physically restraining her to the bed upon their return.
Eventually, in 2015, all the hidden secrets came rushing out. Gypsy had been conversing online with her boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, whom she met on a Christian dating site. She told him the truth about her mother and asked him to kill Dee Dee so they could be together. In June 2015, Nicholas came to Gypsy’s house in Missouri and stabbed her mother. After the incident, Gypsy posted on her Facebook page, “That b–ch is dead.”
Many documentaries and films were made about Gypsy Rose and her mother. For example, “The Act” (2019) and the documentary “Mommy Dead and Dearest” (2017). With such publicity and fame, Gypsy has been making her way up the social media ladder at an increasingly alarming rate. Even before Gypsy’s release, numerous individuals supported her, going as far as posting videos glorifying her and countdowns to her release. Now, many obsess over her TikToks and Instagram reels. So far, Gypsy has been following social media trends, such as GRWM (get ready with me) and OOTD (outfit of the day), and posting some TikToks about her wounded past. People all around the world have pointed out Gypsy’s swift online return with limited knowledge about social media.In response, on January 17 Gypsy posted a video explaining her goal to bring more attention to the Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
The “Do We Know Them” podcast describes this situation as “disturbing, dystopian, and strange.” I completely agree. Gypsy should be given a lot of support during this time, but we must remember Gypsy’s past. No matter what approach you take or what perspective you look at, Gypsy played a huge role in her mother’s death. Although the reason behind it may be valid and morally gray, the surge of followers and viewers that flooded Gypsy’s socials gives off an uneasy feeling.
