Gypsy Rose Blanchard is now a free woman, but she married her husband while she was still in prison serving a 10-year sentence for second-degree murder for her involvement in the slaying of her mother, Claudine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, in 2015.
Blanchard and Ryan Scott Anderson obtained a marriage license in Chillicothe, Missouri, on June 27, 2022, according to a copy of the license obtained by TODAY.com.
Blanchard was released from prison three years ahead of her original release date after she was granted parole on Dec. 28, 2023, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections.
Since her release, the 32-year-old has rapidly risen to social media stardom, updating her followers on her life in Louisiana with Anderson about her upcoming projects, including a new documentary, “The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard.”
The six-episode documentary premieres on Lifetime on Jan. 5, and Blanchard reveals how she met Anderson and gives a glimpse into their prison wedding day in the fifth and sixth episodes.
How did Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Ryan Scott Anderson meet?
Anderson, a 37-year-old sixth grade social studies teacher in Louisiana, said in “The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard” he first wrote to Blanchard in prison as part of a deal with his friend who was interested in the Netflix show “Tiger King.”
“‘Tiger King’ was very popular at the time. And so my friend said, ‘Oh, I really want to write tiger king,'” Anderson said of his friend, who was referring to the show’s subject Joe Exotic. “And I said, ‘OK, well, I’ll make a deal with you. You write Tiger King. I’ll write Gypsy Rose Blanchard.’ And that’s what happened.”
In the documentary, Blanchard recalled what drew her to Anderson’s first letter: “The thing that stuck out the most about Ryan’s letter is not only how genuine it came across, but also how how funny he is. His sense of humor was great.”
At the time, Blanchard had another boyfriend, but she said she quickly broke up with him to pursue her relationship with Anderson. The pair continued to write letters to each other for a year and two months before Anderson met Blanchard at the Chillicothe Correctional Center, Anderson said.
“I walked into the room and I thought, ‘Wow, he’s a lot more handsome than in his pictures!’ So we had four hours to sit and talk together,” Blanchard said. “We had this connection that seemed so seamless, so easy. This is something I never thought that I would have after everything that has happened.”
How did Ryan Scott Anderson propose to and marry Gypsy Rose Blanchard in prison?
Four months after their first visit, Anderson said Blanchard called him and asked where he wanted the relationship to go from there.
“She’s like, ‘After meeting you, I can now say that I have romantic feelings for you,'” Anderson said. “She’s like, ‘I was a little smitten with you.’ That’s what she told me. That was her exact quote. So I was like, ‘Well, I’m still smitten with you like ever, you know, because I fell in love her long time ago.'”
For the pair’s third visit, Anderson said he bought an engagement ring and wore it on a necklace to sneak it into the prison, where he asked her to marry him.
“He said, ‘Gypsy Rose Blanchard, I love you more than anything I’ve ever loved. And I would be the happiest man in the world if you would be my wife. Will you marry me?’ And I said yes. And he put the ring on my finger,” Blanchard said.
Less than a month after obtaining their marriage license, the pair married in a small prison ceremony with no guests on July 21, 2022, the couple said in the documentary.
The pair also said they planned to have reception for their friends and family to attend after Blanchard was released from prison.
Where are Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Ryan Scott Anderson now?
Blanchard said in the documentary she planned to move to Louisiana with Anderson after she was granted parole. Anderson lived with his mother to help raise his nephew, but said he was looking for a residence for just him and Blanchard.
“I do believe I am the Prince Charming that Gypsy has been waiting for her whole life,” he said. “I really do believe that. When Gypsy gets out, I plan on supporting her and doing what a husband supposed to do to his wife.”
Since her release from prison, Blanchard has posted sweet selfies with her husband, and has also defended him from those leaving negative comments on his social media posts.
“Ryan, don’t listen to the haters. I love you, and you love me. We do not owe anyone anything. Our family is who matters. If you get likes and good comments great, if you get hate then whatever because THEY DON’T MATTER,” she wrote in a comment on Instagram. “I love you💕 besides they jealous because you are rocking my world every night…yeah I said it, the D is fire🔥 happy wife happy life ❤️”