Gypsy Rose Blancharde — The Girl Who Grew up Living a Lie

By Kayla Richard | March 3rd, 2020

Who would’ve thought this adorable mother/daughter duo would have been in the midst of such a crippling, shocking story? Take a minute to throw away everything you once believed or thought about these two, trust your gut instinct and get ready to question everything! Several people on Facebook, especially those residing in Missouri may remember Gypsy Rose Blancharde as having numerous disabilities. She was said to have had (by her mother Dee Dee and the media) leukemia, muscular dystrophy, asthma, anemia, and many more down the list. Gypsy would be seen confined to a wheelchair as she is perceived to believe she can’t walk and is also “mentally inept.” But these unfortunate ‘truths’ would soon be ripped down and exposed as lies upon many supportive communities.

Gypsy was a happy and bright child growing up. Despite her chronic illnesses, Gypsy has always been seen with a smile on her face. She loved Disney princess movies; Tangled being her favorite, and often viewed herself as a fairytale princess. She would often be seen wearing wigs and in cosplay of her favorite characters. But there was never a time for Gypsy where her mother Dee Dee wasn’t beside her — clenching hold of her hand. She loved being there for her daughter Gypsy as any mother would with their child, especially with a wide range of illnesses. But Dee Dee was clearly a little obsessive and this is where we dive deep into the unknown mystery of as to why.

Claudine, other known as Dee Dee Blancharde was known for her charming personality and contagious smile. But this story will make you think otherwise for sure. Dee Dee made it clear to Gypsy and her family — way before Gypsy could even speak that she couldn’t walk. But this turned out to be one big, terrible lie. Gypsy could walk, perfectly. In fact, Gypsy was never disabled to begin with. Gypsy’s so-called illnesses were part of one huge fraud!

But how? How could one woman have had the ability to scam an entire community about something even doctors never considered or thought?

Unfortunately, lying isn’t something Dee Dee was new to, and would not be surprising after learning the true side to her. Dee Dee’s family, later on, described her to be manipulative and explained that she’s had a past for stealing and lying. They even figured she may have been responsible for her mother’s death that took place in 1997. “She was a very filthy person” Laura Pitre, Dee Dee’s stepmom explained in a documentary surrounding the story ‘Mommy Dead and Dearest’. Dee Dee’s nephew followed by saying “She opened up credit cards in my dad’s name, my grandpa’s name. Ran up crazy bills” adding “Supposedly America’s most wanted was looking for this girl”. Dee Dee was not who she appeared to be but played a loving, devoted mother.

What made it all the more convincing was after Hurricane Katrina occurred in Louisiana (where Gypsy and Dee Dee once lived), causing more and more people to feel a stronger connection towards Gypsy and Dee Dee. After Hurricane Katrina stormed in and devastated the area in 2005, they had no choice but to move to Springfield, Missouri. Thankfully they were provided airlift and a brand new home.

But they didn’t begin at their new home until after the Oley Foundation, advocates for the rights of feeding-tube recipients referenced Gypsy as the child of the year. Finally, after the fact, Habitat for Humanity built them a small (pink) home on the north side of Springfield.

Gypsy and Dee Dee were truly going to live their best lives in their new home, especially after a great deal of charitable contributions were sent their way from supporters who gave in to believe this sick story. But this is where things have begun to skyrocket and lead up to the worst. Rod Blancharde, Gypsy’s dad and Dee Dee’s ex-husband often sent her monthly child support payments at a total of $1,200, including free gifts. During a phone call with Gypsy, on her 18th birthday, Rod recalled Dee Dee telling him not to mention her daughter’s real age since “she thinks she’s 14” Rod and his second wife planned to meet with Gypsy and Dee Dee but Dee Dee always had some form of excuse. Subsequently, Dee Dee would turn around and tell her neighbors that Rod was an abusive person and didn’t pay child support like he was supposed to.

Dee Dee didn’t have trouble keeping up Gypsy’s child-like image. Gypsy’s innocence, small height, and high pitched; child-like voice gave away the impression that she was far younger. Gypsy was not 14, or any number below that. Gypsy was much much older at the time.

Not even Gypsy was aware of how old she really was. Not until she discovered she was born in 1991 after coming across a birth certificate that she somehow discovered. Gypsy always remembered being told she was born in 1995, making her appear a lot younger than she was. But despite finally knowing the truth about her age, Gypsy knew to keep her mouth shut.

‘Why did Gypsy decide to keep it secret for so long?’ you may wonder. Believe it or not, Dee Dee was very abusive towards Gypsy. Whenever Gypsy blurted out the wrong things or suggested she wasn’t sick, Dee Dee would respond in a harsh manner. It came to light that Dee Dee would physically abuse Gypsy with open hands or a coat hanger to show that Gypsy was being disobedient to her. Their relationship wasn’t a fairytale in the slightest.

Gypsy continued to get medical attention for her ‘disabilities’ as well as get her salivary glands removed. She also got tubes implanted in her ears due to a suspected ear infection. Sooner or later, Gypsy would become enraged for the way her mom has treated her. In 2012, upon Dee Dee falling asleep, Gypsy found her way in the night, texting a guy around her age, ‘Nicholas Godejohn’ from Big Bend, Wisconsin, on a Christian dating site. Gypsy began to fall in love with Nicholas and planned to spend the rest of her life with him. Of course, she ended up telling him about her situation, how her mother treated her, and how it might limit their chances of meeting.

Nicholas too had problems he was dealing with at the time, and this is what brought them together even then. Nicholas had a criminal record for indecent exposure and a history of mental illnesses. But as their relationship furthered on down the line, Nicholas began introducing her to things such as BDSM and role-play. Their relationship began revolving around role-play and sexual fantasies. After Gypsy’s desperation of meeting Nicholas began to take over. Gypsy decided to pay Nicholas a trip to meet her in Springfield. After conjuring up an idea that was to unexpectedly ‘bump’ into her at a movie theatre, Nicholas simply agreed and decided to act upon it. And once the plan surprisingly worked, Gypsy mentioned having sex with Nicholas in the boy’s bathroom. She also mentioned to find him a bit ‘creepy’ despite the fact.

However, even after Gypsy and Nicholas experienced meeting each other, they both felt as though Dee Dee would still be an issue and needed to be separated from their relationship. With that being said, Gypsy would ask Nicholas to mercilessly kill Dee Dee for her. Nicholas, being autistic and under a type of trance found no hesitation in doing so.

To add, Nicholas had a type of persona that appealed to his fantasies that he named ‘Victor’, a dark and evil side to him. This is what allowed him to have the courage to kill Dee Dee after all and with no looking back, Nicholas A.K.A Victor proceeded to kill Gypsy’s mother.

Some may wonder “Did Dee Dee deserve death after robbing away her own daughter’s life for so many years?” As others may probably feel, Dee Dee was none other than mentally ill and needed serious psychological help.

Evidently, as far as we know now, Dee Dee Rose Blancharde has had a case of ‘Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome’, a mental health problem in which the caregiver causes an illness or injury upon a child for instant gratification. It is sad to say that this occurred to be the situation with Gypsy and Dee Dee.

But while Gypsy and Nicholas reside in the interiors of prison today, and with no matter the amount of research given into this case, it will forever be the most heartbreaking crime story there is.