Gypsy Rose Blanchard Wants Kids After Release, But Fears 'Hard Conversation' About Mom's Murder (Exclusive)
The newly freed Munchausen by Proxy victim tells PEOPLE she's focused on building a family in the near future
Courtesy Gypsy Rose and Ryan Anderson
Ryan Anderson and Gypsy Rose BlanchardGypsy Rose Blanchard is newly freed from prison and ready to focus on her future.
The Munchausen by Proxy victim, 32 — who after years of being subjected to painful medical abuse, played a role in the 2015 killing of her mom Dee Dee — opens up to PEOPLE in a new exclusive interview and upcoming cover story about her prison release and putting the past behind her to start a family of her own.
Courtesy Gypsy Rose and Ryan Anderson
"My husband Ryan has been an emotional backbone for the last three years," Gypsy says of Ryan Scott Anderson, 37, a Louisiana special education teacher who first sent her a letter back in 2020. "We met when the pandemic was really, really strong and I had a lot of emotional ups and downs because of COVID."
Anderson, along with Gypsy and her family, will be featured in Lifetime's gripping new docu-series The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, premiering Jan. 5. He tells PEOPLE what led him to reach out to Gypsy in the first place.
"It was when Tiger King was really popular," says Anderson of the hit Netflix show about wildlife businessman and convicted felon Joseph "Joe Exotic" Maldonado. "My co-worker at the time was like 'I want to write Tiger King.' I said, 'I'll tell you what, if you write him, I'll write Gypsy Rose Blanchard. I never thought she'd be my wife."
Investigation Discovery
Gypsy Rose BlanchardIn the letter, "I remember telling her what her story meant to me, and on the second page I just let her have it," says Anderson, "I told her everything about me." As for why she chose to respond: "She told me the main reason was probably because I was from Louisiana [Gypsy's original home state]," he says with a laugh. "So I credit that as being the most important thing."
Gypsy says their bond soon became much deeper than that. "Ryan has seen me through some really good times, some really hard times. I would say that he is probably the most compassionate soul that I've ever met, and the most patient," she says. "God knows, he's so patient with me, because I could be a lot to handle. I could be an emotional handful."
From the outset, Anderson was smitten. "I remember I had butterflies when we'd email," he says, "but really what set it over the top was the first time I heard her voice."
Courtesy Blanchard Family
Rod, Gypsy and Kristy BlanchardThough Gypsy's dad Rod and stepmom Kristy wanted her to wait until after her release to get married, the pair tied the knot in a small prison ceremony on July 21, 2022. And while Chillicothe Correctional Center does not allow conjugal visits, the pair says following Gypsy's release, they're looking forward to consummating their marriage and starting a family.
"We're in love," says Gypsy. But also, "It's hard because I'm going into a new life and I'm newly married, and I'm going to have kids one day, and I'm going to have to explain to my kids why their grandmother on mommy's side isn't around. And that's going to be a really hard conversation."
One thing she isn't worried about is hurting her children the way her mother Dee Dee hurt her, when for years she forced Gypsy into numerous painful medical procedures she never needed.
"Whenever someone says, 'Do you think that because of what you went through, you're going to do that to your kids?' I say, 'You know what? Absolutely not.'" says Gypsy, whose gone through years of self-work and continues to receive therapy. "I have learned what not to do. I have no concerns about my parenting when it comes to that."
As for her marriage, "I don't foresee any major hardships," she says of life with Anderson. "I think this, being in prison, has been the hard part. I think when I'm at home with my family, with my husband's arms around me and I'm surrounded by my loved ones, that is when I will be happy."
The six-hour Lifetime docuseries The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, airs on January 5, 6 and 7th at 8pm ET/PT.
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