Let’s get back to the Gypsy Rose Blanchard story because more details have emerged to add to this mind-boggling saga revolving around the 32-year-old’s medical condition. Ready yourselves for a brand new twist.
Dee Dee Blanchard’s Deception Decoded
Let’s start at the beginning. Gypsy Rose was born July 7th, 1991, in Golden Meadow, Louisiana. Her mother was Dee Dee. From a child, Gypsy Rose was a victim of Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy. Dee Dee convinced everyone that her daughter had multiple ailments, even Gypsy Rose herself.
Dee Dee’s deception went through a catalog of illnesses and ailments she claimed her daughter had. Many were life-changing, some even life-threatening.
Over time, Dee Dee Blanchard claimed her daughter, Gypsy Rose, had infant sleep apnea, muscular dystrophy, leukemia, asthma, seizures, vision and hearing issues, developmental delays and a chromosomal defect. She had Gypsy, believing she needed medication, a wheelchair, and a feeding tube.
Gypsy Rose’s Medical Conditions
This is a sorry saga in every sense of the word. Jump forward to 2015, and Gypsy is under investigation for the murder of her mother along with Nicholas Godejohn, her online boyfriend. It’s this investigation that turned up the truth about the Munchausen’s. Almost all Gypsy’s many illnesses were made up by her mother.
The one real medical condition Gypsy Rose had was disclosed in the Lifetime documentary Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, after Dr. Rob Steele, Gypsy’s former pediatrician, reviewed her medical records. It’s a condition many babies are born with, called hypertropia or, put simply, cross eyes.
Gypsy had weak eye muscles and had surgery to correct them before she was a year old. She was never told and had no idea. However, she acknowledged she’s had issues with her right eye and that it was serious enough to be a problem. Could this have been Dee Dee’s trigger?
Gypsy’s Mom Suffered From Munchausen’s Syndrome
Dee Dee was suffering from a textbook case of Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy. It’s a mental illness now renamed Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another (FDIA). In FDIA cases, the caregiver fabricates illnesses for those in their charge. It isn’t always a child. They seem to want sympathy and attention rather than any kind of financial gain.
There are other types of factitious disorders, such as making up medical conditions about oneself. It’s a condition associated with emotional difficulties. Dee Dee took FDIA to new levels.
Gypsy Rose’s Time in Prison
Gypsy was found guilty for her role in the murder of her mother, and she received ten years. She was out on parole by December 2023, having served 85% of her sentence.
Gypsy Rose came out ready to talk and put things straight. She starred in the new Lifetime documentary Gypsy Rose: Life after Lockup (June 3rd, 2024) apparently, Gypsy thinks it’s like The Truman Show but with prison tatts, which hints at her sense of humor.
Gypsy Rose is also the subject of an HBO documentary aptly entitled Mommy Dead and Dearest, and her incredible story has been put on film in The Act by Hulu.
