Gypsy Rose Blanchard has spent a lot of time in the public eye since she was released from prison, so it came as a surprise when, in March, she suddenly deleted her public social-media accounts. At the time, she explained in a video, “With public scrutiny as bad as it is, I just don’t want to live my life under a microscope.” But it seems like Blanchard has changed her mind: Her TikTok account reappeared this week.
Blanchard, who served a seven-year prison sentence for murdering her abusive mother Dee Dee Blanchard in one of the most publicized cases of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, was released in December to a great deal of fanfare. She quickly garnered millions of followers posting updates on her post-prison life (and the occasional GRWM video).
After Blanchard deleted her Instagram account in March, she took to her public TikTok page to explain her decision. “I do my best to live my authentic life and what’s real to me,” she reportedly said in the since-deleted videos, “and what’s not real is social media. Social media is literally a doorway to hell.” In another video posted to TikTok the same day, Blanchard reportedly apologized for “a lack of accountability in my interviews,” suggesting she regrets some of the choices she made during the first month she was out of prison. “Feeling freedom for the first time felt amazing,” she said, claiming she “got carried away in the hype of everything.” She cited a comment she made on Nick Viall’s podcast about not identifying as a murderer that she said “confused a lot of people.”
“I did a bad thing,” Blanchard said. “But I’ve also been given a second chance at life. So please give me a little grace. Let my actions match my words.” She added, “I think I’m just now starting to get around to listening to my inner self instead of all the noise that’s been on social media.”
A source speaking with People claimed Blanchard took down her accounts “at the advisement of her parole officer, so she won’t get in trouble and go back to jail.” At the time she was released, Blanchard had served 85 percent of her original prison sentence, and her parole conditions reportedly include completing an outpatient mental-health program and not contacting her ex-boyfriend, who’s serving a life sentence for carrying out Dee Dee’s murder.
Despite taking a step back from social media, her name hasn’t stopped popping up in headlines. In the last two months, Blanchard has filed for divorce, announced a memoir, and gotten back together with her ex-fiancé, Ken Urker. Back on TikTok this week, she shared a trailer for her upcoming Lifetime documentary series, Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up, and showed off her new nose job. Though she didn’t give a reason for her return to TikTok, it seems like her 9 million followers are happy to see her back. In response to a video Blanchard shared of herself at the beach soundtracked with Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso,” the pop star commented “you served.”
This post has been updated.