Gypsy Rose Blanchard announces pregnancy with partner Ken Urker
Gypsy Rose Blanchard is going to be a mother after announcing her pregnancy with her partner, Ken Urker, on social media Tuesday.
Blanchard posted a video on YouTube titled, "I'm Pregnant, My Journey So Far."
"Well...the rumors are true! Ken and I are so excited to start our family together and I can't wait to share my journey with you here," she posted in the video caption. "Thank you for all your support so far and i can't wait to see our family grow."
The couple's baby is expected to arrive in January 2025.
Who is Gypsy Rose Blanchard?
Blanchard, a Missouri woman who pleaded guilty to plotting to murder her abusive mother in 2015, was released from the Chillicothe Correctional Center in December 2023.
She was sentenced to 10 years in prison for second-degree murder in 2016, when she was 24, but under Missouri law, she became eligible for parole after serving 85% of her sentence.
"Eight and half years ago, I handled the most difficult case of my career. In doing so, I helped reunite a family enduring horrible circumstances," her attorney, Mike Stanfield, said in a LinkedIn post,
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Blanchard's case has been the subject of several documentaries and feature films, including HBO's "Mommy Dead and Dearest," "Gypsy's Revenge" by Investigation Discovery, Hulu's "The Act" and most recently, Lifetime's "The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard." Penguin Random House is also set to release an e-book by Blanchard and co-authors Melissa Moore and Michele Matrisciani, titled "Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom."
Who is Blanchard's mother?
Experts believe Blanchard's mother, Claudine "Dee Dee" Blanchard, had Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a psychological illness in which a person — in this case, Dee Dee — pretends another person — Gypsy — is ill in an effort to receive attention or material items out of sympathy for the victim.
Dee Dee convinced Gypsy that she had a litany of illnesses, including leukemia, and was years younger than her actual age.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 01: Gypsy Rose Blanchard speaks onstage during "An Evening with Lifetime: Conversations On Controversies" FYC event at The Grove on May 01, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images)
Dee Dee also forced her daughter to sit in a wheelchair, made her take medication she did not need, shaved her hair, removed her teeth and fed her through a tube in her stomach.
Dee Dee and Gypsy received a lot of positive attention and support from their Missouri community. They lived in a home built by Habitat for Humanity after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their house, took charity trips to Disney World, and Make-a-Wish sent them backstage at a Miranda Lambert concert, according to Buzzfeed.
Blanchard and her online boyfriend, Nicholas Paul Godejohn, were arrested in connection with Dee Dee's fatal stabbing in 2015. The next year, Blanchard was sentenced to a decade behind bars, while Godejohn was sentenced to life.
Who is Ken Urker?
According to TMZ, Gypsy and Ken first got together while she was in prison under a pen-pal program.
The couple was engaged in April 2019 but then called it off, according to the outlet. Blanchard was then married to Ryan Anderson before reconnecting with Urker.
FOX News contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.