Before I say anything, let me hit you with a SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched the series on Hulu or looked into the real case yet, definitely do so before reading! If you have heard about the mind-boggling case that is portrayed in "The Act", you know that it is one of a kind.
Dee Dee Blanchard was a seasoned scammer, a true genius in all things deceitful. Her dedication and obsession with misdiagnosing her own daughter with chronic illnesses is sickening for anyone that hears about it. From lying about her daughter's ability to walk, age, allergies, and even leukemia, she convinced everyone around her that she was a saint of a mother, and that Gypsy was an innocent, incompetent child.
Though Gypsy wasn't actually physically suffering, the mental toll of her mother's abuse is part of what makes this story the scandal of our time-and why everyone is talking about Gypsy Rose Blanchard.
1. The list
Dee Dee Blanchard's psychotic doting over her daughter, Gypsy, resulted in an extensive list of fictitious diseases, unnecessary surgeries, and needless prescription drugs. Due to Dee Dee's severe case of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, which is the psychological disorder marked by attention-seeking behavior by a caregiver for those in their care, Gypsy was forced to live out the false reality her mother contrived. For good measure, I've compiled a list of all of the alleged things wrong with Gypsy.
1. Leukemia
2. Muscular Dystrophy
3. Need to be fed through a feeding tube
4. Allergic to sugar
5. Surgery to remove salivary glands due to "excessive choking"
6. Sleep apnea
7. A chromosomal disorder
8. Seizures
9. Hearing problems
10. Vision problems
11. Mentally challenged
12. Asthma
It may be confusing to think that a mother successfully convinced the world, including the doctors, that her daughter needed care for all of these things. However, her own mental illness caused her to brainwash Gypsy into believing she couldn't eat, walk, or do things normal kids and teens do. Gypsy was robbed of a normal childhood, and only began figuring things out for herself after 19 years of suffering (even though her mom convinced her she was still only 14).
2. The scams
I'm sure you can imagine a master manipulator masked by the persona of a worried mother was able to finesse a LOT of free stuff. After Hurricane Katrina hit, Habitat for Humanity built a dream house fit for a princess for Gypsy and her mother in Springfield, Missouri. The Ronald McDonald house as well as Make-A-Wish foundation fed into the attention this "little girl" drew, and the Blanchard's received an insane amount of donations and accommodations. Gypsy received the Oley Foundation's "Child of the Year" award in 2007, attracting more attention to the positive attitude of the "sick" child-which is exactly what fed into her mother's strange addiction.
3. The doctors
This story has everyone thinking "WTF is wrong with the doctors that treated her?" Dee Dee's manipulation and intricate medical records of Gypsy's past, though also fake, were enough to convince anyone around her, even doctors. She stole prescription pads from medical offices to receive medications and wouldn't leave hospitals without a new diagnosis-even one as common as asthma. In one of Gypsy's interviews, she expressed her frustration that doctors didn't acknowledge the muscle in her legs, which was a sure sign she wasn't paralyzed and did not need a wheelchair. Towards the end of the story, when Gypsy knew she could walk, she was too afraid to tell the truth to her doctors due to her mother's abuse. One doctor, Dr. Bernardo Flasterstein, represented by Poorna Jagannathan in "The Act", expressed doubts about her ability to walk, and began making calls to Gypsy's past doctors in New Orleans. Dee Dee brushed him off, but his extensive research into her daughter's medical past was the first time one of Gypsy's doctors saw through her mother's lies.
4. The secrets
As Gypsy began to realize her abilities, she got up in the middle of the night to stretch her legs and indulge in the sugar she was "allergic to". Due to the amount of unnecessary medications from her mother, along with the sugar, her teeth began rotting. This resulted in many painful surgeries to get her "famous smile" back. Gypsy's ability to lie, thanks to her mother, allowed her to secretly purchase a laptop and phone, making her own Facebook account to talk to men and find the "Prince Charming" she had always dreamed of. Her mother created a fantasy world around her that made Gypsy obsessed with a happily ever after-which turned out not to be so happy for her beloved mother.
5. The murder
After years of secretly online dating, Nick Godejohn, who had his own share of mental problems, including Multiple Personality Disorder, conspired with Gypsy to kill her mother and free her of the life she was trapped in. A Missouri night in 2015 turned into a bloodbath as Nick Godejohn stabbed Dee Dee Blanchard to death so he could be with her daughter and lead a "normal life".
6. The posts
Gypsy suffered from PTSD from the night of her mother's death. Dee Dee screamed for Gypsy's help, and days later, Gypsy felt the need to make sure her mother's body was found soon. She logged onto her mother's and her joint Facebook account, and wrote the sickening post above. Her failure to remove the location of the post resulted in-you guessed it-her arrest.
7. The sentence
After being on the run and living with Nick's family in Big Bend, Wisconsin, the couple was arrested and charged with the murder of Clauddinnea Blanchard. Gypsy's life of abuse and lies led her to be sentenced to 10 years in prison and charged with second-degree murder, while Godejohn faces life in prison without parole. Some may say it was Gypsy's plan all along, and that she had the manipulative abilities of her mother, but some feel sympathy for the damaged woman. Is she prone to lying due to years of living one, or is she the result of an unfathomable case of abuse? "The Act" is almost wrapping up the one season series, and I'm expecting Gypsy's release in 2024 to be a news event like no other.
This case is far from ordinary, and that's why the hype around "The Act" is huge. It's crazy to think that years of scamming donors, doctors, family, and friends was so successful, and the only way the truth came out was through a brutal murder. There's nothing like a good old story about love, fantasy, sickness, and death, right? I guess you never expect it to happen to someone who could've lived a life so similar to you, watching "Hannah Montana", sneaking out, and going to college. If you were Gypsy Rose, what would you have done?
