A new podcast from Dr. Phil provides another side to the twisted tale of Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee Blanchard.
Dr. Phil's new podcast Analysis of a Murder, which is available via Stitcher, goes through the gritty details of the night that Dee Dee Blanchard was killed in her home in Springfield, MS. It also provides commentary from people involved in Dee Dee and her daughter Gypsy's life, including her father Rod Blanchard, who had a unique relationship with Gypsy.
The story of Dee Dee Blanchard's murder has been told in HBO documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest and in Hulu's scripted anthology series The Act. The mother suffered from Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy and essentially kept her healthy daughter, Gypsy Rose, a prisoner in her own home — ultimately leading Gypsy to orchestrate Dee Dee's death at the hands of Gypsy's boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn. Long before Godejohn would stab Dee Dee to death in 2015, Rod Blanchard, had suspicions about Gypsy's health — which he details on the podcast.
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Per the podcast, Rod was 17 when Dee Dee, then 24, got pregnant with Gypsy. They married, but the relationship did not even last through Gypsy's birth. When Gypsy was a few months old, Rod claims that Dee Dee told him that their baby had sleep apnea.
"Dee Dee had her in for a sleep apnea test," Rod said on the podcast. "As far as I know...there was no determination that she had sleep apnea, the tests came back pretty normal...but Dee Dee insisted that she get a heart monitor, that she wore at night."
According to Rod, this was the first of "many red flags" that he would have about Gypsy's health. Rod was so concerned about Gypsy's health that he moved back in with his wife after leaving in an attempt to make the marriage work. It didn't.
"I didn't feel any differently about the relationship. The relationship did a 180...Dee Dee took me to court for child support. I tried to support her the best I could but I guess to her that it wasn't enough," said Rod. "She would take me to court for additional medical costs she was accumulating, taking me to court for thousands and thousands of receipts for Gypsy. The court said I was obligated to provide medical insurance and expenses on top of child support and alimony. I don't know if Dee Dee saw that as a way to maybe get an edge on top of me, maybe some extra money she could get."
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The medical issues that Rod was told of only got worse.
"Before [Gypsy] was five, she was having problems with her eyes, was having seizures, digestive system [issues,] having a problem digesting certain foods," Rod explained. "I don't know how it got past the doctors, but [Dee Dee] was persistent that [Gypsy] have a feeding tube."
Rod, however, did not see Gypsy as the sick person Dee Dee claimed she was. Eventually, Dee Dee told Rod that Gypsy had cancer and that she had to shave her head.
"I couldn't fathom that the chromosome disorder [that Dee Dee claimed Gypsy suffered from] had anything to do with cancer," said Rod on the podcast.
Rod said that it was difficult to stay in communication with Gypsy, due to physical distance and Dee Dee driving a wedge between them.
"I never lived with Dee Dee and Gypsy," said Rod. "We never got to experience that, Gypsy and I. She was a buffer...Birthdays, holidays, it was very hard."
Ultimately, Rod was able to reconnect with Gypsy after her mother's death — while Gypsy was behind bars.
"[Our relationship] is a hundred times better, honestly," Rod told Fox News. "We email each other. She can call me anytime and she does. I’m keeping tabs on all of her accomplishments in school. She’s getting her GED [in prison]...It’s wonderful. I can’t wait for her to get out so we can build on that foundation that we started here."
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