As Hulu's The Act accurately depicts, Gypsy Rose Blanchard became more interested in boys and talking to them/meeting up with them as she got older — no matter how young her mom Dee Dee Blanchard pretended she was. Eventually Gypsy Rose met Nick Godejohn, who would become her partner in crime in her mother's murder.
Gypsy wanted to escape to live a life with Godejohn, but Dee Dee — who experts now believe had Munchausen Syndrome by proxy — was forcing Gypsy to act sick and to use a wheelchair, part of an elaborate scheme by Dee Dee to keep her daughter close gain people's sympathy and help. According to Kansas City's Fox 4, Gypsy admitted that it was her idea to kill her mother, but that Godejohn carried out the stabbing.
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But before that fateful night, and Gypsy and Godejohn's respective 10-year and life sentences, the two simply began talking online. Here's a timeline of how everything unfolded.
Nick & Gypsy Started Talking Online In 2012
According to ABC News, Gypsy and Godejohn met on a Christian dating website three years before Dee Dee's murder. "It was almost like love at first sight," Godejohn said. "I just connected instantly with [her]."
Their Text & Facebook Conversations Quickly Turned Sexual
Gypsy's mother may have been acting like her daughter was still a young teen, but, in reality, Gypsy was 21 when she began talking to Godejohn. The Springfield News-Leader reported that their text conversations usually centered on love, sex, and their hopes of building a life together. Another News-Leader article stated that Gypsy had as many as five secret Facebook accounts she would use to talk to Godejohn.
As Rolling Stone reported, the HBO documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest said that Gypsy and Godejohn's online relationship started to explore various kinks. In some online photos, she was dressed in costume, role-playing with Godejohn.
In Fall 2014, Gypsy Told Her Friend About Godejohn
The same Fox 4 source linked above reported that Gypsy told her friend and neighbor Aleah Woodmansee that Gypsy had been conversing with a man online. Gypsy told Woodmansee that she wanted to escape to marry Godejohn and already had baby names picked out.
In March 2015, Gypsy & Godejohn Met In Person For The First Time
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The above ABC News article includes the detail that Gypsy wanted her mother to approve of Godejohn, so Gypsy arranged a meetup at a local screening of Cinderella. Dee Dee did not approve, but that didn't stop Gypsy and Godejohn from reportedly sneaking off to the bathroom to have sex, according to Fox 4.
Soon After, Gypsy & Godejohn Began Planning Dee Dee's Murder
Fox 4 reported that Gypsy mailed Godejohn money to get him to her hometown of Springfield, Missouri. She also reportedly stole a knife from Walmart for Godejohn to use in the attack.
"It was not because I hated her. It was because I wanted to escape her," Gypsy told ABC News of why she wanted to kill her mom.
In June 2015, Godejohn Stabbed Dee Dee To Death
Her body was later found on June 14.
Gypsy Alleged That Godejohn Raped Her
In the HBO documentary, Gypsy claimed that Godejohn raped her following the murder. Godejohn claimed the encounter was "pretty much kind of consensual" in his police interview shown in the documentary. "I don't consider it to be consensual," Gypsy said in an interview for the documentary.
Gypsy & Godejohn Spent A Few Days Together
Another ABC News article reported that, for a few days, Gypsy and Godejohn spent time together doing normal things like shopping at Walmart.
On June 15, 2015, Gypsy & Godejohn Are Found By Police
The Springfield News-Leader reported in another article that the duo made their way to Godejohn's Wisconsin home, where the police later found them. It was easy for them to make an arrest considering that the pair had brought their bloody clothes with them and had mailed the murder weapon from Springfield to Godejohn's house.
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In July 2016, Gypsy Pleaded Guilty
Local Missouri news source KSDK reported that Gypsy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Now, Gypsy's Relationship With Godejohn Has Soured
Godejohn told ABC News in that first linked article that he now feels "betrayed" by Gypsy. "I loved Gypsy to the point where I would ... do anything for her. I've proven that with what I did," Godejohn said. “Unfortunately, because of how far I went, I feel as if she's betrayed me. I feel that she's abandoned me.” He added, “There is a part of me that will probably always love her, but she's hurt me so badly."
Gypsy told the outlet that she feels Godejohn is also controlling like her mother, and she wasn't interested in repeating that life again. "I feel like I was trained my whole life to do as I was told, and I feel like he wanted that for a girlfriend," Gypsy said.
In February 2019, Godejohn Was Sentenced To Life In Prison
Rolling Stone reported that Godejohn will not be eligible for parole. Gypsy is eligible in 2024. By then she'll be 32.