But Gypsy Rose’s story also isn’t a simple one, with many thinking she was wrongly imprisoned in the first place. Dee Dee, it is now believed, suffered from a mental disorder known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy, which led to her subjecting her daughter to years of unnecessary and traumatic medical treatments. This included using a wheelchair and getting two salivary glands removed, according to Gypsy Rose.

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“I see Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s rapid rise to social media fame as a testament to the power of second chances and personal growth,” Nina Vargas, a celebrity and business strategist, said. “Her story of resilience and transformation has resonated with millions, showing that we’re all capable of change and redemption, no matter our past.”

Where Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s story began

Gypsy Rose grew up in a pink house in Missouri with her mother Dee Dee. She had a tough start in life, with Dee Dee telling neighbours and doctors her daughter was suffering from multiple illnesses including leukaemia and muscular dystrophy, according to ABC News.

Hulu’s 2019 series The Act, starring Joey King and Patricia Arquette, gave a dramatised retelling of the family’s story, and multiple documentaries have laid out what happened to Gypsy Rose in detail.

She was given multiple medications every day, was administered liquidised food through a feeding tube, and was transported around in a wheelchair. Dee Dee also kept Gypsy Rose’s head shaved, telling her it would fall out anyway. Gypsy Rose’s teeth rotted and fell out, and the rest had to be extracted. She even had her salivary glands removed.

Dee Dee constantly obsessed over her daughter’s care and smothered her to the point they shared the same bed.

Behind closed doors Dee Dee was overbearing, but to the outside world, it was a different story. The two became darlings of the neighbourhood, with people being more than willing to step in and help them out financially.

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But the truth was that Gypsy Rose was perfectly healthy. Her tooth decay was a result of the strong medications she didn’t need. Her hair would grow back if it wasn’t cut away. She was also a lot older than Dee Dee was telling people she was.

Dee Dee’s lies started making less sense to Gypsy Rose, who tried to escape several times but was always forced to come back home. She finally plotted with her then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, who she met over the internet, to kill Dee Dee so she could be free.

In June 2015, a post appeared on Dee Dee’s Facebook page that said: “That b**** is dead.” Police tracked down Godejohn and Gypsy Rose after finding Dee Dee stabbed to death in her bedroom.

Gypsy Rose was sentenced to 10 years in prison for second-degree murder, while Godejohn, who was the one who carried out the murder, was given a life sentence. Gypsy Rose later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

Supporters believe she had no choice

Gypsy Rose served eight of her 10 years before she received parole and was released on December 28, 2023. Over the years, she gained supporters who thought she was wrongly imprisoned, and killing Dee Dee was a last resort.

It is now widely believed that Dee Dee should have been diagnosed with factitious disorder imposed on another, also known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy, which is a form of child abuse. The theory is that Dee Dee was purposefully giving her daughter pills and medicines to create symptoms of diseases that she didn’t have, to get attention from doctors and her peers.

Gypsy Rose has given several interviews over the years about her incarceration, describing how trapped she felt while living with her mother. In one with People after her release, she said killing Dee Dee was an act of “panic” and “desperation” because she was facing yet another surgery.

“It’s not like I didn’t think about every other option besides murder,” she told the outlet. “I did.”

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In her first social media video on December 31, 2023, she thanked everyone who had supported her. It amassed over 32 million views.

“Hey everyone, this is Gypsy,” she said. “I’m finally free.”

Leaning into her influencer status

Since her release, Gypsy Rose hasn’t wasted any time throwing herself into the media circuit. She’s appeared on The View, given a handful of exclusive interviews, and gained millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram.

Popular influencers have also helped boost her platform. Claudia Oshry (girlwithnojob) stated on her podcast The Toast that Gypsy Rose was “the name on everybody’s lips”, and even mused that she may win the title of Time’s next Person of the Year.

Amanda Hirsch (notskinnybutnotfat) joked with Gypsy Rose about a comment she recently made on Instagram about her sex life when trolls came after her husband, Ryan Anderson.

“They jealous because you are rocking my world every night,” Gypsy Rose wrote. “Yeah I said it, the D is fire.”

Her attitude and enthusiasm to lean into her stardom have made her a darling of the internet, with fans pronouncing her a “queen” and commending her courage.

“She’s actually so real, what an angel,” one comment reads.

Another asks: “If she’s out of prison, why is she still serving?”

Vargas said that Gypsy Rose’s support comes from people not just focusing on her past, but “her present and future”.

“It’s about hope, growth and the human spirit,” she said. “We’re naturally drawn to stories of resilience, and her journey embodies that.”

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Nine million followers on TikTok

Despite her video updates having the slightly clumsy quality of a new social media user, the internet has welcomed Gypsy Rose with open arms. She currently has over nine million followers on TikTok, and eight million on Instagram. YouTubers are begging her to appear on their podcasts, and media outlets are scrabbling over each other to land an interview.

Jessica Maddox, an assistant professor and researcher of social media and internet culture at The University of Alabama, said that Gypsy Rose’s story has long been a source of fascination, with documentaries, articles and television adaptations.

“She’s always been a bit of a sustained internet celebrity in this way, even when she’s been in prison,” Maddox said. “The social media landscape was ready for her when she was paroled.”

People were rooting for her to succeed, Maddox said, because her story was so horrific. Now, they get to see what she actually does with her freedom.

“She endured horrible abuse for years, and I think people are interested in what she does now and how she can move on from that,” she said.

Maddox also said some caution is always necessary when being flung into the limelight, especially for someone who has already been through so much.

“I hope followers give Gypsy the space to heal from her lifetime of trauma,” she said. “And we should remember that her sharing anything with us at all is a privilege, not a right.”

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