Who Is Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Dad? All About Rod Blanchard

Gypsy Rose Blanchard's parents Rod Blanchard and Clauddine 'Dee Dee' Blanchard separated shortly before her birth

Gypsy Rose Blanchard is enjoying “family time” following her 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.

Despite his divorce from Dee Dee, Rod maintained a close relationship with Gyspy during her early years. However, as Gypsy got older, the two became estranged as Dee Dee controlled many aspects of Gypsy’s life, eventually making her undergo years of intense medical treatments that she never needed. Gypsy was a victim of Munchausen by proxy, a form of abuse in which a guardian may seek attention or sympathy by making their child ill or exaggerating their illness.

Following Dee Dee’s murder in June 2015, for which Gypsy pleaded guilty and served an eight-year sentence, Rod has mended his relationship with his daughter and was in attendance for her homecoming party when she was released from prison in December 2023.

Here’s everything to know about Gypsy’s father and what the two have said about their relationship.

Related: Gypsy Rose Blanchard Released from 10-Year Prison Sentence Early After Mother's Murder: 'I'm Ready' (Exclusive)

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

Speaking with Buzzfeed News, Rod recalled how his marriage to Dee Dee quickly deteriorated by the time he turned 18. “I woke up on my birthday, on my 18th birthday, and realized I wasn't where I was supposed to be,” he told the publication. “I wasn't in love with her, really. I knew I got married for the wrong reasons.”

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 of her release from prison in December, Gypsy recalled how her mother created distance between 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-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn conspired to kill Dee Dee. Gypsy later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while Godejohn was convicted of first-degree murder.

Following Dee Dee’s death, Rod began to learn the truth about how Gypsy was a victim of Munchausen by proxy. “We still are learning [of new things] and amazed at some of the things that went on,” Rod told PEOPLE in 2017.

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

Following his divorce from Dee Dee, Rod got remarried to his current wife Kristy. During the early years of Gypsy’s life, both Rod and Kristy maintained a close relationship with her, often going to various events together, including the Special Olympics. Kristy also appeared in the documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest alongside Rod.

In addition to reconnecting with her father, Gypsy has developed a close relationship with her stepmother. Following her release from prison in December, Gypsy shared a selfie of the two smiling with a cat filter, writing, “Snapchat fun with my stepmom Kristy” alongside a heart emoji.

He has two other children

After marrying Kristy, Rod became a dad to two other children, per Buzzfeed News, including Gypsy’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 💕.”

Rod, Kristy and Mia were all in attendance at the New York premiere of Mommy Dead and Dearest, a documentary about Dee Dee’s murder and how Gypsy was a victim of Munchausen by proxy.

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Read the original article on People.