Entertainment And News

Who Is Aleah Woodmansee? New Details About Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Best Friend —Including Her Feelings About The New Hulu Series

Photo: YouTube
Who Is Aleah Woodmansee? New Details About Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Best Friend —Including Her Feelings About The New Hulu Series

If the name Aleah Woodmansee sounds familiar to you, there's a reason. For a few years, Aleah found herself in the center of a true crime story so big it eventually inspired a Hulu series: The Act. The crime in question is the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard, and as Dee Dee's daughter's only friend, Aleah had a glimpse behind the curtain that most of us would never dream of getting.

So who is Aleah Woodmansee, how is she involved in this case, and what does she think now that her friend's story has made its way to the small screen, complete with a character inspired by her own relationship with Gypsy? Get ready because we're going to break it all down! 

RELATED: Who Is Anthony Camello? New Details About The Man Arrested For The Murder Of Frank Cali

1. The Crime 

If you have heard Aleah Woodmansee before, chances are it was in connection with a case that's still making headlines years after it all went down. The case in question, of course, is the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard. If you haven't heard of that case, let me give you a quick debrief. For decades, Dee Dee Blanchard convinced her friends and neighbors that her daughter Gypsy Rose Blanchard was suffering from multiple dystrophy, leukemia, asthma, epilepsy and a whole other host of horrible illness, but there was a problem: it was all a lie. 

Based on what she claimed about her daughter's illnesses, Dee Dee received a free home, monetary donations, and countless other resources. In addition to that, she also got tons of attention. Though Dee Dee is gone now, many people speculate that's why she really went to all the trouble of creating such elaborate lies, for financial and personal gain. So while all of this was going on, where was her daughter Gypsy and what role did she play in the scam? 

2. The Fallout 

According to Gypsy herself, her mother basically kept her a prisoner, controlling her with threats and physical violence. She didn't know where the lies ended and the truth began, but one thing was for sure, she was older than her mother told everyone that she was, and she was growing desperate in her bid to make a life for herself, one where she didn't have to keep her head shaved or stay in a wheelchair as if she couldn't walk. 

Eventually, Gypsy did something unthinkable. With the help of Nick Godejohn, a man she met on the internet and quickly began dating, the couple made plans to kill Dee Dee and flee. Nick arrived at the trailer where Gypsy gave him a knife. He told her to hide in the bathroom and cover her ears, and then he stabbed Dee Dee to death. The couple stole cash at the site and fled and when Dee Dee's body was found a couple of days later, everyone assumed that the handicapped girl had been kidnapped. It was only once the police apprehended Gypsy and Nick that the truth finally came out. 

3. The Hulu Series 

If you think this story sounds like something you'd see on TV, you'll be pleased to know that the fine folks at Hulu agreed with you, because they made the story of Dee Dee and Gypsy into a limited series event called The Act, currently available on their platform. In the movie, isolated and lonely, Gypsy has almost no friends...minus her friend "Lacey" played by AnnaSophia Robb. In real life, there was no Lacey, but there was Aleah Woodmansee! She was Gypsy's dearest friend, and she was likely the only person Gypsy spoke to about her internet boyfriend. The two friends communicated using a secret Facebook account. To Aleah Gypsy expressed her desires to become more of a woman. 

Aleah has seen the series and wants to set a couple of things straight. “I do have tattoos, but all have been professionally done, and for the most part I keep them covered because not everyone appreciates it — and I get that!” Woodmansee said. “I really don’t understand why [adding that scene] was necessary.”

“Lacey’s twang … I hear it in the trailers and I’m not a fan of the whole hillbilly tone that gives the character,” she said, embarrassed, but that wasn't what bothered her the most. “[The show] apparently depicts me smoking with Gypsy? That never happened. Alcohol and smoking were things we never discussed. Literally, the most risqué topics we even touched on were boys … and at the time I believed she was no older than the age of 15, so we can all assume that remained pretty tame.”

RELATED: Who Is Nick Godejohn? New Details About Gypsy Rose's Boyfriend And The Man Who Murdered Dee Dee Blanchard

4. Her Reaction To The Show 

For Aleah, the attention the show has brought her hasn't been a positive experience, and she isn't afraid to say what she thinks about it all. 

“Honestly, it feels a little surreal to think of an actress portraying me — however inaccurate it may be,” she said. “I’ve worked hard on maintaining a respectable image during and after the case, [and] I really don’t appreciate that being undone by the carelessness of people who prefer drama over respect.”

5. Where Are They Now 

Nick Godejohn was sentenced to life in prison for stabbing Dee Dee to death, while Gypsy received a lesser sentence due to the abuse that she experienced at the hands of her mother. Aleah is ready to put the past behind her, but she still thinks about her friend. 

"Obviously there's more to it than anybody ever knew and so I believe that everybody deserves some kind of support whether or not they agree with what they did," she said. 

RELATED: Who is Azriel Clary? New Details About R. Kelly's Girlfriend — Including Her Suicide Pact

Rebecca Jane Stokes is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York with her cats, Batman and Margot. Her work focuses on relationships, pop culture and news. For more of her work, check out her Tumblr