Gypsy Rose Blanchard talks about her failed engagement

Gypsy Rose BlanchardFirst relationship with Ken Orker It ultimately ended while she was still behind bars, a topic she addressed candidly in her December 10 memoir, “My Time to Stand.”

In the book, the 33-year-old reflects on her first heart-to-heart experience while serving her prison sentence. Gypsy, who spent eight years in federal custody for her involvement in the murder of her mother, Claudine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, began communicating with Orker shortly after the May 2017 release of the HBO documentary “Mommy Dead and Dearest.”

Their relationship began when Ken Orker sent Gypsy Rose Blanchard a letter to Chillicothe Correctional Center in Missouri, where she was serving her sentence.

“His voice jumped off the page, as if he were sitting right in front of me,” she shared in her book. “He held up the paper, and I could feel his energy. He was just a great guy. ‘Hi, my name is Ken.’

The relationship blossomed quickly, with the couple speaking almost every day through letters and phone calls. when Orker finally met Gypsy in personHe sealed his romantic feelings with what he described as “the most passionate kiss.”

Just a year later, Orker returned to visit Blanchard, this time with a question that would change his life—he proposed. “We kept our engagement secret, telling only our closest family members,” she recalls. “Then The Act came out on Hulu, and I went from being a celebrity to a pseudo-celebrity.”

“My personal life was like a carcass for vultures to feed on,” she admitted. “The media, including real armchair enthusiasts, investigated everything about me, including Ken. The invasion was really hard for him,” he said, especially since he was a “private person.”

According to Gypsy, the “attention and scrutiny” from the media took a toll on Urker, especially after news of their engagement was leaked by someone connected to a family member.

Although she initially blamed the press for her then-fiancé’s suspicions, she now admits that Orker ended their engagement for a completely different reason.

“I initially thought it was Ken’s discomfort with the popularity of The Act and the breadth of my reputation that prompted him to end our relationship,” the ex-con said. “I was wrong. At the time of this writing, Ken has reached out to explain and set the record straight.

“There were many adults in his life, presumably wiser than him, who indicated that this was not the right time for me to get married,” she continued. “If you love her, you’ll set her free,” was the common advice he heard over and over again. I see now that he thought he was doing my best by sacrificing his own needs and desires.

Gypsies and AndersonGypsy’s relationship began in 2020 when Anderson, a special education teacher from Louisiana, began communicating with Gypsy by writing letters to her in prison. Their correspondence quickly developed into a romance, and they met face-to-face for the first time in June 2021.

The following year, in July 2022, the couple tied the knot in a prison ceremony while Gypsy was still serving her sentence for her role in the murder of her mother, Dee Dee.

After her parole in December 2023, Gypsy and Anderson’s marriage faced challenges. By March 2024, Gypsy announced their separation, citing the need to focus on her personal growth and self-discovery. The following month, in April 2024, she officially filed for divorce.

The proceedings were marked by mutual restraining orders, an indication that there were unresolved personal conflicts between the former spouses. Gypsy later spoke of the divorce as an emotionally exhausting experience, describing it as “heartbreaking”.

Likewise, Anderson shared his sadness over the breakup, revealing that he had envisioned a long future with Gypsy and was devastated by the outcome.