Photo: getty
She's engaged.
By Emily Blackwood — Written on Apr 16, 2019
Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the woman who conspired with her former boyfriend — not the man she's engaged to — to kill her mother following years of abuse, is engaged.
The 27-year-old told her family and friends that she and her boyfriend are getting married, according to family friend Fancy Macelli, according to PEOPLE.
“They are very happy,” Macelli says. “You can hear excitement in her voice.”
So who is this Fancy Macelli and what else does she know about Gypsy Rose's engagement? Here's what we know.
1. She didn't reveal his name.
While Macelli revealed the news of the engagement, she didn't give out Gypsy Rose's soon-to-be-husband's name. However, she did say that they have known and been in each other's lives for a year and a half.
“She keeps him very private," Macelli said. "We’re not going to release his name or anything like that, but she does have a fiancé. That’s something she wouldn’t have ever been able to do with her mom: be engaged.”
Gypsy Rose is currently serving 10 years in prison for pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the 2015 stabbing death of Dee Dee Blanchard, her mother. Her boyfriend at the time, Nicholas Godejon, is currently serving a life sentence for his role in the murder.
Gypsy Rose has told police that she had her boyfriend kill Dee Dee so she could escape her life of abuse, as her mother forced her to fake multiple terminal illnesses.
2. Her fiancé wrote to her after seeing a documentary about her.
She also said that they started dating after meeting through a prison pen pals program while she was behind bars. According to Macelli, Gypsy Rose's fiancé saw the HBO documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest and decided to reach out to her. They've been writing to each other ever since, even though they first started off as friends.
“[This relationship] is a good thing for her,” Macelli said. “And whether it ends up being that way in the end no one knows, but for her right now it’s a very positive and happy time.”
3. He hasn't met her family.
Neither Macelli nor anyone of Gypsy Rose's friends or family has met this mystery man. However, that soon will change.
They plan to meet him next month and have spoken to him through the phone and by messaging online. Her family approves of the engagement, and have told the couple that they have a long road ahead of them.
Her stepmother, Kristy, posted a photo of Gypsy Rose wearing a band on her ring finger that has since been deleted.
4. They're waiting to get hitched.
According to Macelli, Gypsy Rose and her mystery boyfriend are waiting until she's released from prison before they get married. She'll be eligible for parole in 2024 when she is 32.
Macelli also said that her ring didn't come from a romantic proposal but from a fellow inmate at Missouri Chillicothe Correctional Center who was getting divorced.
“Another inmate was getting divorced and gave her that for her to just have so that she could feel good about it,” Macelli told E! News. “They’ll go together and pick out rings, obviously later at a time when she’s out and they could do that and have their own intimate moment.”
In addition to her engagement, Gypsy Rose is also completing her GED and is looking into pursuing a career in cosmetology.
5. He's better for her then Godejohn was.
Macelli feels much better about Gypsy Rose's relationship with this man then she did about her relationship with Nicolas Godejohn, who murdered her mother.
She described that relationship as unhealthy and an act of "desperation." Her current relationship is full of mutual love and respect.
"She’s 27 years old, she deserves to be in love and she deserves to have somebody who cares about her,” Macelli said. “He’s just there for her.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
Emily Blackwood is a writer and editor living in California. She covers all things news, pop culture, and true crime.