Last week, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was released on parole after serving eight years in prison for her role in her mother, Dee Dee’s, murder. If you aren’t familiar with the story, Gypsy was a victim of Munchausen by proxy syndrome. At the time of her murder, Dee Dee had convinced everyone that a then-24-year-old Gypsy was a terminally ill teenager with the mind of a seven-year-old who suffered from leukemia, muscular dystrophy, and other fake diagnoses that she used to defraud people and charities. She was able to get away with it by constantly changing doctors, moving across state lines, and using Hurricane Katrina to explain away missing medical records. In 2015, Gypsy convinced a boyfriend to stab her mother. She pleaded guilty to second degree murder and, in 2016, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Her ex-boyfriend received a life sentence. There’s a lot more details that you can read about here.

After Gypsy was released on December 28, she took to Instagram and TikTok to announce her freedom. In a series of posts, she released selfies and other images of her homecoming. Gypsy, who got married in 2022, also posted a video thanking people for their support and giving an update about what’s coming up next for her. The Lifetime docuseries, The Prison Confessions of Gyspy Rose Blanchard premieres on Friday, January 5. On January 9th, an ebook, titled, “Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom,” will drop.

“Hey everyone, this is Gypsy. I’m finally free,” the 32-year-old said in a video posted to TikTok and her official Instagram on Sunday. “I just wanted to send a quick video to thank everyone for the massive amount of support that I’ve been getting on social media, everyone has been really, really nice and supportive and I really appreciate that.”

She’s outside in the video, wearing a New Orleans Saints NFL Jersey, her brown hair down and makeup on her face.

“It’s nice to be home. I’m back home in Louisiana, enjoying a beautiful day outside and I’ve got a lot of great things happening really soon,” Blanchard continued. She’s been active on social media since her release, posting selfies and images from her homecoming celebration to her platforms, but Sunday marked the first time she spoke to the public in a video.

Blanchard told her followers about her upcoming Lifetime docuseries, The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, which begins on Jan. 5. She also mentioned her upcoming book, Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom, which she said she’s “super proud of.”

“It’s not a rehashing of everything that happened, it’s more of my reflection of everything that I’ve learned and experienced in the last 8.5 years,” she said. “Again, just thank you guys for all the support, and keep watching. Okay, bye,” a smiling Blanchard concluded the video.

[From People]

I haven’t watched any of the interviews, documentaries or series about the Blanchard case – I mainly read about it – and don’t really plan on reading her book or watching the Lifetime series. I’ll skim through articles about them, though, to see if I find anything of interest. I hope she doesn’t fall into a trap where she feels like her only option is to monetize what happened to her and it prevents her from moving forward. Her entire story is just so disturbing from start to finish. I cannot imagine what Gypsy has been through as a victim of emotional, medical, and physical abuse. I think all of the grown-ups in her life failed her. There were doctors with suspicions that never raised alarm bells. I also think on some level they failed Dee Dee, too, because that woman was an abusive monster who needed some serious help and to be held accountable via prison. I honestly hope that Gypsy received top-notch therapy in prison and put in the work to fully heal. I also hope that she has a great support system now and a good mental health plan in place.