Rod Blanchard and Gypsy Rose Blanchard.Photo:Michael Loccisano/Getty Images; GYPSY-ROSE BLANCHARD-ANDERSON/INSTAGRAM
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images; GYPSY-ROSE BLANCHARD-ANDERSON/INSTAGRAM
Gypsy Rose Blanchardisenjoying “family time”followingher release from prison, including reconnecting with her father Rod Blanchard.
Gypsy was born on July 27, 1991, to parents Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard and Rod Blanchard. After meeting when Rod was in high school, the couple married when Dee Dee found out she was pregnant. They eventually separated shortly before Gypsy was born,per Buzzfeed News.
Here’s everything to know about Gypsy’s father and what the two have said about their relationship.
He met Gypsy Rose’s mother when he was in high school
Rod and Dee Dee first met when he was in high school and dated for four to six months, per Buzzfeed News. He was 17 at the time while Dee Dee was 24. When Dee Dee found out she was pregnant with Gypsy, they decided to get married, however, their relationship was short-lived.
He divorced Gypsy’s mom when he was 18
Shortly after their split, Gypsy was born on July 27, 1991.
He has been candid about Gypsy Rose’s complicated relationship with her mother
As Dee Dee had primary custody of Gypsy, Rod was largely in the dark about Dee Dee’s abuse toward Gypsy. Speaking with Buzzfeed News, Rod recalled how when Gypsy was 3 months old, Dee Dee became convinced that the child had sleep apnea, and her convictions about Gypsy’s illnesses spiraled as time went on.
Rod maintained close contact with Gypsy until she was about 10 years old as mom and daughter moved away and Dee Dee began to lie about Gypsy’s true age. Rod recalled one instance when he called Gypsy on her 18th birthday, hoping to make “dad jokes” about his daughter becoming an adult, when Dee Dee intercepted the call to remind him that Gypsy “thinks she’s 14.”
“I think Dee Dee’s problem was she started a web of lies, and there was no escaping after,” Rod told Buzzfeed News. “She got so wound up in it, it was like a tornado got started, and then once she was in so deep that there was no escaping. One lie had to cover another lie, had to cover another lie, and that was her way of life.”
Speaking with PEOPLE ahead ofher release from prison in December, Gypsy recalledhow her mother created distancebetween her and her father, which is why she never opened up to Rod about what was really going on with her.
“I just didn’t think he would care because my mother had created that distance there, and she would say so many bad things about him behind his back,” she said. “And to me, just telling my head with stories that were troubling, and I felt like he was not a source to go to, not that I even knew his phone number because I didn’t know his address. So that never crossed my mind. It was kind of like, I’m not going to reach out to him because why would he care?”
He stayed in contact with Gypsy Rose in prison
In June 2015, Gypsy and her then-boyfriendNicholas Godejohnconspired to kill Dee Dee. Gypsy later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while Godejohn was convicted of first-degree murder.
In the HBO documentary,Mommy Dead and Dearest, Rod spoke candidly about Gypsy’s crime, while also noting that he understood why she did it. “Yeah, it’s wrong, and there were other options that Gypsy had — which she tried some of those avenues and they didn’t work out,” Rod said. “Bad as it sounds, she [Gypsy’s mom] asked for what she got.”
As Gypsy served her prison sentence, Rod reconnected with her daughter and they slowly repaired their relationship. “She’ll always have a home here,” Rod told PEOPLE in 2017. “We’ll put her on the right path.”
He remarried
Rod Blanchard, Mia Blanchard and Kristy Blanchard.Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
He has two other children
After marrying Kristy, Rod became a dad to two other children, per Buzzfeed News, includingGypsy’s stepsister Mia. As Gypsy held a homecoming party following her release from prison, she posted a photo of herself alongside Mia with the caption, “Sister Love 💕.”
source: people.com
