Gypsy Rose Blanchard speaks out on death of Ken Urker. What we know - USA Today
Gypsy Rose Blanchard is speaking out following the death of her one-time fiancé and father of her child, Ken Urker, at 34.
Urker and Blanchard, 35, first met while the latter was in prison for assisting in the murder of her mother, Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard. The high-profile true-crime case has been the subject of multiple films, including HBO's 2017 documentary "Mommy Dead and Dearest," Lifetime's "The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard" and Hulu's 2019 limited drama series "The Act," starring Joey King and Patricia Arquette.
Since her release on Dec. 28, 2023, Blanchard has been in the spotlight as the public remains fascinated with her story.
Here's what to know about Gypsy Rose Blanchard, her winding murder case and her life with Urker after prison.
Blanchard told People magazine on Oct. 2 that Urker died in bed at his home in Louisiana from an apparent overdose. TMZ was first to report Urker's death.
"I don't know if it was intentional or not," Blanchard said. "He was not in a good state of mind lately."
USA TODAY has reached out to Blanchard's representatives for comment.
Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office in Louisiana confirmed to USA TODAY that it responded to a call to a home on Thursday, Oct. 1 at 6:15 p.m., where Urker was found dead. "We are continuing the death investigation. To this point in the investigation, we have found no evidence of foul play," the office said, though it has not been "completely ruled out."
In a statement shared on her Instagram story Friday morning, Blanchard said Urker dealt with an "unimaginable level of public scrutiny" and "relentless cyberbullying" on social media, which had a "profound impact" on him.
The "cruelty directed toward him was something no human being should have to endure," she continued.
She also shared a photo of Urker on Instagram, captioning the post, "You will always be my greatest love story. You will be remembered and loved forever."
Blanchard's case grew international attention after the then-23-year-old and her boyfriend, 26-year-old Nick Godejohn, conspired to kill Blanchard's mother, Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard, with Godejohn stabbing her to death.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard said she experienced severe medical child abuse at the hands of her mother, and local media reports later uncovered that she was a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a mental illness where someone makes up or exaggerates an illness for a person in their care.
Her mother had made her pretend to have severe physical and mental disabilities, including forcing her to use a wheelchair and undergo various unnecessary surgeries, regularly shaved her head to give the appearance of a cancer patient and made Gypsy Rose Blanchard believe she was much younger than she actually was.
Her mother apparently forced the narrative to elicit donations and gifts from charities and public assistance.
Blanchard attempted escape but failed multiple times. After forming a relationship with Godejohn online, which often included sexually explicit correspondence, the pair began planning to kill Dee Dee Blanchard.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard later admitted she "talked" him "into it." After she bought Godejohn a bus ticket with stolen money, he arrived at the Blanchards' Missouri home, where he stabbed Dee Dee Blanchard 17 times in the back while she slept. The pair went on the run but were found days later at Godejohn's Wisconsin home and arrested.
At their 2016 trials, Blanchard accepted a deal and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Despite Godejohn's defense arguing that his history of mental disabilities, low IQ and infatuation with Gypsy Rose Blanchard influenced his actions, a jury found him guilty of the more severe charges of first‑degree murder and armed criminal action. He was sentenced to life in prison with an additional 25 years.
Blanchard was released on parole in December 2023 and completed her term in June 2025.
Urker and Blanchard met as prison pen pals during the "My Time to Stand" author's nearly eight-year sentence. He proposed to Blanchard in October 2018, but they called off their engagement before reuniting in August 2019 and later reconciling, according to People.
The two later broke up again, and Blanchard married Ryan Scott Anderson in July 2022 at the Chillicothe Correctional Center in Missouri during her sentence. Blanchard and Anderson split in March 2024 and finalized their divorce in December 2024.
After separating from Anderson, Blanchard rekindled her romance with Urker in April 2024. The couple welcomed their daughter, Aurora Raina Urker, in December 2024.
"I have been in love with Ken since the day we first met," she told People in a September 2025 interview. "We have been through more than most couples have and have had challenges that would break many couples, but we still stand strong, and I don’t ever see that changing."
