Change.org Rod Blanchard and Gypsy Rose
Gypsy Rose Blanchard is the subject a series on Hulu called The Act. The series delves deep into the disturbing real-life story of Dee Dee Blanchard, a woman who essentially tortured her child Gypsy Rose through Munchausen By Proxy. Dee Dee was found stabbed and killed in 2015 and Gypsy Rose pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Prosecutors argued that her boyfriend, NicholasGodejohn, initiated the murder plot and Gypsy agreed. Godejohn was found guilty of first-degree murder and Gypsy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. But during Gypsy Rose’s disturbing upbringing, culminating with the murder of her mother, where was her father during all of this? Read on to learn about Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s dad.
Rod Blanchard Started a Petition Seeking to Have Gypsy Rose Released from Prison Early
Rod Blanchard said that Dee Dee tricked him into believing that Gypsy Rose was sick too. He shared his story on a Change.org petition that he started, seeking to have Gypsy Rose released early from prison. As of the time of publication, more than 56,000 people have signed the petition. He published the petition following HBO’s documentary about the case. Rod said that Dee Dee had even controlled Gypsy’s food intake by putting her on a feeding tube, and when Gypsy tried to run away she was caught within four hours and handcuffed to a bed for two weeks as punishment.
Rod said he would like Gypsy relocated to a mental facility so she can get better help.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s Dad Was 17 & Dee Dee Was 23 When They Were Married & He Paid Child Support After They Separated
Rod wrote on Change.org that he and Dee Dee were married and then separated while she was pregnant — he was 17 and she was 23 at the time. He said that he thought Gypsy Rose was sick too. He wrote on Change.org:
I have always tried to be the best father I could, but Dee Dee always kept my relationship with Gypsy very limited. I always provided financial and moral support to them even after Gypsy turned 18 I continued to pay $1,200 a month in child support payments because I was convinced that Gypsy was disabled and Dee Dee spent all of her time caring for Gypsy. They were relocated from Louisiana to Missouri after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and they would become unavailable just prior to my planned visits to see them. We maintained a relationship but only by phone calls and cards and gifts. Dee Dee always coached, filtered and monitored Gypsy and I’s communications.
However, he also admitted that he felt like he had failed his daughter.
He said that Dee Dee would insist on being with Gypsy 24-7 because of her illness, so he didn’t get time to bond with her and spend time alone with his daughter. Dee Dee had full custody.
He’s a Big Part of Gypsy’s Life Now
Rod Blanchard is a bigger part of his daughter’s life today. He told Crime Feed that Gypsy Rose was doing very well in prison. “She’s doing really well,” he said. “She’s happy and healthy.”
He said on Change.org that she calls home three to four times a week and has a younger brother Dylan, 22, and a sister Mia, 16.
Rod is now married to Kristy Blanchard, who is close to Gypsy. Kristy once said that she could remember several occasions where she and Rod had planned trips to Missouri to visit Gypsy Rose, but Dee Dee wouldn’t respond to their messages in the days leading up to their visits. She would later tell them it was because Gypsy Rose was in the hospital.
He Said that Dee Dee Got What She Asked For
Rod Blanchard doesn’t mince words when it comes to his ex-wife. Newsweek reported that he once said Dee Dee got what she asked for.
She was just a bad mother. You can call it Munchausen by proxy or whatever, but you can’t keep somebody like that all their lives. It’s just part of nature, to want to be free. If you think you can manipulate someone all their lives and for them not to bite back at one point when they had enough, then you’re completely mistaken… I think she asked for what she got.”
However, at the time he never suspected that Dee Dee was abusing Gypsy. And Gypsy was too scared to tell him, he added.