Gypsy Rose Blanchard is grateful for her freedom but isn’t relishing in her late mother Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard’s death. The 32-year-old sat down for her first televised interview with Good Morning America recently and admitted that she has “regrets” over Dee Dee’s murder.
“I don’t believe my mother was a monster,” Gypsy Rose told Deborah Roberts. “She had a lot of demons herself that she was struggling with. … I didn’t want her dead, I just wanted out of my situation, and I thought that was the only way out.”
Gypsy Rose also clarified that the reason why she is sharing her “story” with the world is “to be a cautionary tale so that the next person that might be in a situation like mine — they don’t take the route that I did.”
“I always said I think I’m infamous and that I came out famous,” she continued “There is this massive amount of support. And I appreciate that. But I’m dealing with a lot of self-guilt and regrets myself. So, it’s a battle going on in my heart and in my mind.”
In 2015, Gypsy Rose asked her then-boyfriend, Nick Godejohn, to kill her mother while she was sleeping. Nick — who is serving life in prison — stabbed Dee Dee 17 times in the back while Gypsy stayed in the bathroom. The pair then took off but were eventually convicted of Dee Dee’s murder the following year. Gypsy Rose was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2016 for second-degree murder and was released early last week. The Louisiana native’s story has been adapted for the screen multiple times, through documentaries such as Mommy Dead and Dearest and the drama miniseries The Act.
When it comes to Nick, Gypsy Rose added, “I’m sure that we both have a lot of regrets. All I can really say is that I did my time. He’s doing his time for his part. And I wish him well on his journey.”
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Now living with her husband, Ryan Scott Anderson, at home, Gypsy Rose is opening up about her experience in prison.
“I felt a little bit like I was dropped in a different world,” she said. “Because you don’t realize how much you’re restricted in prison. I felt like I was in a black and white world, and I just stepped into technicolor. It was amazing.” Gypsy Rose also admitted that, despite being behind bars, she “also had more freedom in prison than I ever had with my mother.”
While looking at an old photo of herself when she was younger, Gypsy Rose explained that she didn’t recognize the person in the picture.
“Like, I know that’s me. But at the same time, that isn’t me anymore,” she said. “She had a lot of demons herself that she was struggling with.”