Inside Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Troubled Marriage: What Went Wrong with Ryan Anderson? (Exclusive)

Blanchard's close friend Nadiya Vizier and cousin Bobby Pitre talk exclusively with PEOPLE about her journey to find herself again

Gypsy Rose Blanchard locked herself in her bathroom in Lake Charles, La. She was frightened, trying to pull herself together as her husband, Ryan Anderson, 36, banged on the door late at night.

"Let me in! Let me in!" he allegedly screamed, Blanchard's close friend tells PEOPLE, relaying Blanchard's account of the situation.

Blanchard, 32, was scared the tension could escalate. As Anderson allegedly pounded harder, Blanchard quickly called a relative to pick her up. She knew this was the end of her two-year marriage.

"He got in her face and screamed," says her close friend and tattoo artist Nadiya Vizier, 22, who is shedding light on what she says led to Blanchard's sudden separation from Anderson in late March, just three months after her prison release.

Related: Read PEOPLE's Cover Story on Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Prison Release After Murdering Mom: 'Ready for Freedom'

"Gypsy said that she was afraid he was going to hit her. He didn't — but that happened in the past with her mother. So, her first instinct was to tighten up and be prepared. But she got to safety and called her lawyer, too. Ryan is a big guy, and she told me it was really scary."

(Anderson could not be reached by PEOPLE after multiple attempts. Blanchard's defense attorney Mike Stanfield didn't respond).

At dawn, Blanchard took her belongings and spent hours on a drive back to the home of her father Rod and stepmother Kristy's in Cut Off, La., to begin her new life again.

Two years ago, Blanchard and Anderson married in a jailhouse ceremony in June 2022, while Blanchard was serving more than eight years in prison for plotting to murder her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, in June 2015, with her then-boyfriend Nicholas "Nick" Godejohn, who was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

"Gypsy and I have always been very open and honest with each other," Anderson told PEOPLE in January. "Even honesty to a fault. Gypsy wants to be so honest that she'll say things that hurt my feelings and vice versa. But that's one of the things I think that makes us stronger is that we are willing to lay it all out on the table. But also, one thing I love about us is after an argument, it's done. We hold no resentment."

For decades, Blanchard's mother had abused and controlled her. It's believed Dee Dee had the psychological disorder Munchausen syndrome by proxy — a form of child abuse in which a caregiver might induce illness to draw public sympathy, care, concern and material gifts.

Dee Dee subjected her daughter to numerous unnecessary medical treatments and procedures throughout her childhood and adolescence based on false diagnoses. One of those was muscular dystrophy, which Dee Dee said required Blanchard to use a wheelchair, even though she was able to walk without any issues. Next came painful and unnecessary feeding tubes, a bogus epilepsy diagnosis and a falsehood that her daughter had leukemia, for which Dee Dee shaved her head often.

Related: Gypsy Rose Blanchard, Set to Be Freed From Prison, Regrets Murdering Mother: 'She Didn’t Deserve That' (Exclusive)

'She was on a leash'

Ahead of Blanchard's early release in December 2023, she braced herself for public scrutiny and fame. But she was most excited about her freedom and for life outside of prison with Anderson. She told PEOPLE ahead of her prison release that she planned to have another ceremony celebrating her marriage to the special education school teacher again — this time surrounded by friends and family with a wedding dress, cake and a party to boot. But that ceremony never transpired. A switch had flipped. There were problems in the marriage that couldn't be solved, according to Vizier.

Vizier says that Blanchard told her that throughout their relationship, Anderson had allegedly become more controlling and insecure over his wife.

"It was like she was on a leash," Vizier says. "What's the difference between being locked in a prison cell and feeling locked in her own home and marriage? She didn't want to put up with it anymore."

In February, when Lifetime took a break from filming their forthcoming series Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up, the couple visited Blanchard's family, which became a source of contention before their blow-out fight afterward when Blanchard wanted to spend private time alone with her father.

"But I'm glad Gypsy got out of this situation. She's such a good person. I'm glad she called somebody and got help that night," says Vizier, later adding: "There are so many rumors about her out there. I had to finally speak up. I want people to know she didn't leave Ryan for Ken. She left him because she wasn't happy anymore."

"It wasn't a genuine relationship," says Blanchard's cousin Bobby Pitre, who owns Sailor Bob's Tattoo Parlor, where Vizier has worked as an apprentice for a year. "Ryan did it on a dare. He got in touch with Gypsy on a dare, and she took the bait, and it went from there," he continues.

In January, Vizier, who will be featured on the upcoming Lifetime show, met the famous couple for the first time at the shop, even though she has known Blanchard's father and stepmom since childhood since they have been close family friends for over a decade. Vizier says Blanchard and Anderson had been happy together — but something seemed off. "Ryan was kissing Gypsy a lot just to have it filmed. He'd say, 'Watch you all, come film us!' He was being very, very loud and just doing things in a way that just seemed like he was trying to show the world he was a good partner — like he wasn't using her or something. I guess it felt played up for the camera."

Shortly after her release, Blanchard said glowing things about Anderson. But in an interview with PEOPLE, she said she and Anderson had some personality differences. "I think the only fear that I have is honestly just making sure that we have good conflict resolve, which I feel I'm a very in-the-moment type of person, so I want to make sure if we argue, I want to clear it up right away," Blanchard said. "Ryan is more of the opposite, where he has to sit on things and think about it, then come back a couple hours later and resolve it. I think that that's one of my main concerns."

While Blanchard received a tattoo of a unalome on her left forearm by Pitre, Vizier inked her stepmom with the same artwork in the same place — which is a Buddhist symbol for a path to enlightenment and self-awareness. "That didn't hurt at all, actually," Blanchard said on Lifetime's teaser on March 21 while Anderson stood by her side. "I'm a little emotional. This is an epic moment for us."

'Strong Bond' with Urker

Two months later, Blanchard and her ex-fiancé Ken Urker started spending time together again. After he watched HBO's 2017 film Mommy Dead and Dearest, he wrote a letter to Blanchard in prison in 2018. They eventually became engaged but split up later. Last week, he visited from Texas, and on April 1, the two got matching husky dog tattoos that Vizier designed and completed in three minutes.

When the pair places their arms together, the dogs face each other. "For them, it was even more than their strong bond. It was very personal," Vizier says. "It was something that brought them together. Ken has a husky, and Gypsy loves them and wants one. They were very excited, happy and a little nervous getting it."

Leading up to Urker's visit, Blanchard sought friendship away from her estranged husband, who now has their dog Pixie. She desperately wanted a fresh start. In January, her parents held a crawfish broil party with a bonfire on the patio at their home, where Vizier sang "Hotel California" while Rod played guitar. She even taught Blanchard a few notes. In March, when she moved back home permanently, Vizier and Blanchard bonded over family trauma. Vizier had a difficult upbringing filled with abuse, too, and she believes her father was murdered in 2021 in Mexico. 

"Gypsy didn't have any friends and never really experienced real friendship. I felt terrible," says Vizier. "I feel like a lot of people see her as some celebrity, but I just see her as a girl who had a rough, crazy past like me. She's honest, truthful, sweet and very kind. She's trying to start over again. I feel like all her life, friends have turned their back on her because of her story. I don't know what I would have done in her situation. She was chained to a bed and repeatedly abused. I want to help her have a better life here. She means a lot to me. I want the best for her."

The two of them, along with Vizier's sister Sophia, went shopping at Walmart for leggings so Blanchard could work out at the gym, where she wants to tone her arms and improve her overall health. In the midst of all the major transitions in her life, Blanchard is also making a change to her physical appearance by undergoing rhinoplasty on April 5.

Related: Gypsy Rose Blanchard Reveals She's Getting Cosmetic Surgery: 'Wish Me Luck' (Exclusive)

But before surgery, Blanchard's spent the past week spending time with Urker. The pair dined, shopped at convenience stores, laughed, held hands and playfully embraced each other with their matching bracelets. They even drove to New Orleans and posed in front of the St. Luis Cathedral.

"Gypsy said she was doing good," says Vizier. "She had a really good time. They went on a tour and had so much fun. But I think at the end of the day, she wants people to respect her privacy and give her a break. She still gets so much hate and negativity online. She has not experienced what a lot of us have with social media or even dating. She's learning. She has a lot of new experiences in her next chapter."

In an April 4 TikTok Live, Blanchard appearing for the first time on the platform since her separation, with Urker by her side. Urker said he and Blanchard are "just friends."

Addressing the rumors that she's pregnant with Anderson's baby, Blanchard said, "No, I'm on birth control, like what the hell?"

Urker playfully said, "We have not had any intimacy. We're just hanging out."

Pitre tells PEOPLE, "Gypsy realizes that Ryan isn't great, and she gets out of it. She's obviously in love with the first guy, Ken. You know? That's who she's been hanging out with. She obviously loves him."

But regardless of what the future holds with Blanchard's love life, Vizier believes her friend is on the right path. "I think she's looking for her happily ever after. I don't know if she realizes it's hard to find Prince Charming, but she deserves it. Ken makes her feel happy right now, even as friends," she says proudly. "That's what we all want for her — to enjoy her life."

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