Gypsy Rose Blanchard talks to ET about meeting Kim Kardashian during a surprise appearance on season 5 of 'The Kardashians.'
Gypsy Rose Blanchard is opening up about her surprise appearance in season 5 of The Kardashians. In a previously released preview for the rest of the season, Kim Kardashian knocks on a door and is met with the newly freed 32-year-old.
In the clip, Kim is wearing a brown, shearling-lined coat, and says, "Hi, Gypsy!" Gypsy, who is clad in a white lace top and black skirt, greets the reality star with an enthusiastic "Hi!" before the two hug.
Speaking with ET's Deidre Behar, Gypsy gushes about her meeting with the reality star, whom she's been vocal about wanting to work with on the topic of prison reform after spending eight years behind bars for the second-degree murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard.
"It was a very big honor to get to meet her and I know that prison reform is definitely something that she's passionate about [and] it's something that I'm passionate about, so to get to connect with her and talk about that was a wonderful experience," the Gypsy Rose: Life After Lockup star says. "I know viewers are gonna enjoy kind of seeing what we talked about but they're gonna [have to] wait for The Kardashians and tune in for that."
Kim has become known for her work with multiple presidential administrations, working to get inmates released early. She is also studying to become an official lawyer herself.
Although Gypsy can't divulge too much of what the ladies talked about during their meeting, she shares that their common interest in prison reform was top of the conversation.
"It's something that I have a lot of opinions about and so, her taking the time to kind of hear me out on that was definitely kind of her because I have been on that side of things and she's a very influential person, so it was something that was a positive experience."
Gypsy went to prison for her involvement in the killing of her mother, Dee Dee. Gypsy and her then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, were convicted in 2016 for orchestrating the murder of Dee Dee, who had been manipulating her daughter's life, portraying her as terminally ill. Gypsy was sentenced to 10 years in prison. She was released in December 2023 after serving 85 percent of her sentence.
In the months following her release, Gypsy documented her life, which fans can see in the upcoming Lifetime docuseries, Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up. The eight-part series is a no-holds-barred look at her life, including her marriage and divorce from her estranged husband, Ryan Scott Anderson.
Gypsy previously starred in a six-part Lifetime docuseries, The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, which featured 18-month-long interviews with her conducted within the prison walls, The interviews covered the events leading up to her mother's murder, her time in prison, and the unexpected turns her life has taken since her release on parole on Dec. 28.
"When I was in prison, The Prison Confessions was a way for me to share my story in a very exclusive way... and so this is an extension of that," Gypsy tells ET. " I'm sharing my life outside of prison because by the time December rolled around, I was about ready to get out. I was like, 'I'm so tired of this prison version of myself. I don't feel like I am a prisoner, I am tired of labels, I'm about to be a free woman and that's gonna be a new start for me.'"
Gypsy says she wanted to show people that she was more than the prisoner they'd labeled her as. "By doing that, I open myself up to cameras and have viewers be a fly on the wall in my life and see what I've been going through and the transitions that I've been making."
"People have preconceived ideas of who I am, so let me break that mold and show them who I really am," she adds.
Things have certainly changed for Gypsy since she's been released from prison. Life After Lock Up will follow the breakdown of her marriage with Ryan, whom Gypsy filed for divorce from in early April after less than two years of marriage. Shortly after, she asked a local court for a restraining order against him.
The same week, Gypsy shared that she would undergo cosmetic surgery to alter the appearance of her nose.
"I'm going through a personal transformation journey currently and that includes a physical one too. Wish me luck with my surgery and watch the whole thing this summer on Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up." she told ET at the time.
Reflecting on her brief marriage, Gypsy tells ET that she doesn't regret her relationship with Ryan. The former couple began a correspondence while Gypsy was in prison and were married in July 2022.
"I do regret getting married in prison so fast," she concedes. "I really feel like it was just something that I had to learn on my own. I had to come out and live with a partner that I had known for three years as we went through ups and downs in our relationship. But living with someone is so much different and people kept telling me that. I [was] just kind of like, 'Nah,' but now in hindsight I'm like, I understand where they were coming from."
Since filing for divorce, Gypsy has reconnected with her ex-fiancé, Ken Urker, whom she met through a prison pen pal program. The pair got engaged in 2019, but the two split before Gypsy met Ryan. After being released from prison, Gypsy and Ken reignited their close friendship, which strained her relationship with Ryan, as seen in Life After Lock Up.
"When my marriage was over and I walked away, that's when Ken and I were developing a reconnection and starting to find that back in 2019, back in 2017, it wasn't the right time for us," she tells ET of where she and her new beau are now. "Now that I'm free, we're able to reconnect and see if that right time is now."
Gypsy shares that Ken has even moved from his home in Dallas, Texas, to Louisiana to be closer to her -- although the two don't live together as she is still under parole.
"I'm living at home with my dad and my stepmom for the next year and then he'll be living in New Orleans and we'll visit each other," she explains. "We'll see each other, we'll hang out, we'll date and do this the right way like we always should have in the beginning."
Earlier this month, Gypsy spoke with ET about what's next, saying, "I think that I'm entering into a new era in my life, definitely, having learned a lot about me over these last four months. I think that right now I'm just trying to move forward in my life and kind of showing who I am and discovering."
Fans can see how far Gypsy has come when Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up premieres on Lifetime June 3 at 9 p.m. ET.
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