GYPSY Rose Blanchard has been released from prison on early parole and spent the past 72 hours getting the most out of her newfound freedom.
Blanchard, 32, was sentenced to 10 years in Missouri federal prison after being charged with the second-degree murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, in 2016.
It was revealed in the court proceedings that Blanchard and her then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, plotted to kill the mom in an effort to get her out of an abusive situation.
Since Blanchard was a child, she was forced by her mother to pretend that she had several illnesses, including leukemia and muscular dystrophy.
The 32-year-old was also, at times, forced to breathe from an oxygen tank and even ride around in a wheelchair, although she did not need either.
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Dee Dee suffered from an undiagnosed factitious disorder known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy, where those affected fabricate illnesses or injuries or actually cause them to others to gain attention, sympathy, or other benefits.
The mom would collect gifts from the community and disability benefits for the faux illnesses she put on her daughter.
Godejohn said he knew of this through his relationship with Blanchard and took the responsibility of killing Dee Dee in the murder plot to help his girlfriend.
On June 9, 2015, Godejohn stabbed Dee Dee 17 times in her sleep at the family's Springfield residence while Blanchard hid in the bathroom, covering her ears so she wouldn't hear her mother scream.
Police discovered the grisly scene the following day and later arrested both Blanchard and Godejohn.
While Blanchard was sentenced to 10 years after accepting a plea deal, Godejohn was charged with first-degree murder and is still serving a life sentence without the chance of parole.
Over seven years into her prison sentence, it was announced in September that Blanchard was awarded early parole, and on Thursday, she was picked up by her now-husband, Ryan Scott Anderson, 37, from the Chillicothe Correctional Center.
SHOPPING SPREE
A camera crew closely followed Blanchard around during the first 24 hours after she and Anderson took off in his white Cadillac sedan with a license plate featuring a skull and the word "Hitman" on it in honor of WWE Hall of Fame member Bret "The Hitman" Hart.
The crew was said to be filming for the upcoming Lifetime docuseries on Blanchard's case called The Prison Confession of Gypsy Rose Blanchard.
Its premiere date is scheduled for January 5, 2024.
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Blanchard and Anderson could be seen driving around a local mall and going shoe shopping, with the 32-year-old spotted smiling and wearing a new pair out of one store.
The couple also headed through the McDonald's drive-thru for what appeared to be one of Blanchard's first meals of freedom, where she was again all smiles.
After shopping and food, the Blanchard took to Instagram to show her followers, which have amassed to 4.8 million, that she was back in a hotel room.
She took a picture dubbed in the caption: "First selfie of freedom!"
The 32-year-old could be seen smiling and posing in the mirror in a white and blue long-sleeve top and jeans.
A few hours later, she also shared a photo with her half-sister, Mia.
The caption on the post read: "Sister love."
Other pictures revealed that a welcome home party was given to Blanchard by her father, Rod, and stepmother, Christie.
Blanchard was also later spotted at Burger King, per TMZ.
LIVE EVENT PLANS
Since being released early from Missouri jail, Blanchard laid out plans to attend a Taylor Swift concert and a Kansas City Chiefs game in hopes of running into the pop star, her biggest idol.
The 32-year-old secured tickets to the Chiefs' New Year's Eve game tonight at Arrowhead Stadium against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Blanchard is hopeful Swift will be there watching her boyfriend and Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce.
In case the run-in doesn't happen, Blanchard also secured tickets to Swift's Eras Tour date in New Orleans in October 2024.
Blanchard said in an interview that Swift's music helped her through prison and taught her the "true meaning of girl power."
In an update on Saturday, it was revealed that Blanchard's parole officer ordered that she leave the state of Missouri, per Yahoo News.
Police said Blanchard and her family are garnering too much media attention, causing potential "security risks."
She will miss the New Year's Eve NFL game and her first chance to meet Swift.
Despite the likely disappointing news for the 32-year-old, she still made a game-day post on Instagram wearing a New Orleans Saints jersey.
"Louisiana love NFL game day!" she exclaimed, including a hashtag promoting The Prison Confession of Gypsy Rose Blanchard.
Reports of heavy media attention on Blanchard align with a drastic increase in her social media following online after her release.
INCREASED ONLINE PRESENCE
Along with an Instagram following of nearly 5 million, Blanchard created Snapchat and TikTok accounts that have accrued considerable fanbases.
Her TikTok account cites 1.5 million followers, and she also promoted her Snapchat heavily in an Instagram post on Saturday.
It's unclear the exact number of users that monitor her Snapchat page.
Even so, Blanchard is setting herself up for potential financial success on social media with her popular presence after being released from prison, as TMZ reported.
A few of her TikTok videos discuss the upcoming docuseries as well, which would also give her more exposure.
An HBO documentary called Mommy Dead and Dearest was released in 2017 that detailed the events of Dee Dee's murder.
Ahead of her release this year, Blanchard said while behind bars that she's struggled with what she and Godejohn planned, and regretted what happened.
'DESPERATE'
"I was desperate to get out of that situation," Gypsy Rose told People.
"If I had another chance to redo everything, I don't know if I would go back to when I was a child and tell my aunts and uncles that I'm not sick and mommy makes me sick.
"Or, if I would travel back to just the point of that conversation with Nick and tell him, 'You know what, I'm going to go tell the police everything.'
"I kind of struggle with that."
She also stressed that her new docuseries with Lifetime is designed to make her story a cautionary tale of the effects of abusive relationships.
"I want to make sure that people in abusive relationships do not resort to murder," Blanchard said.
"It may seem like every avenue is closed off but there is always another way.
"Do anything, but don't take this course of action."
In an effort to spread more awareness, Blanchard also revealed plans for a book tour, according to what a source told The U.S. Sun.
Blanchard is set to be "a child abuse advocate" with the "book tour after her release," the source noted.
"Her parole officer signed off on the post-release plan for her work, but he told her to make sure she doesn't take advantage of it," they added.
Blanchard did note she had been writing a novel while behind bars during an interview with the Springfield News-Leader in 2021.
"This will be my never-ending life goal," she said of potentially being an advocate for the effects of child abuse.
The release date of the book has not been announced.
