Gypsy Rose Blanchard is opening up about love and life as a free woman, after finishing her prison sentence and tying the knot with husband Ryan Anderson.
Blanchard and Anderson recently sat down with ET's Rachel Smith, and the newlyweds got candid about their high-profile, headline-grabbing relationship and their plans for making the most of their future together.
The couple tied the knot in July 2022, and have been spending quality time together since her release from prison, but the transitional period has been a learning experience.
"[We've been] integrating into our new life together and just settling into married life," shared Blanchard, who now lives with Anderson following her release. "We cooked our first dinner together, and it's fun. We're learning about each other."
"With us getting married [while she was still in jail], she was able to come live with me straight out of prison," Anderson explained. "So, that was important. It's what we both wanted."
Last month, 32-year-old Blanchard was released from prison eight years after she pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Her story -- marked by a complex web of deception, abuse, and tragedy -- has been recounted in various forms, from news stories to an HBO documentary and Hulu's scripted series The Act.
The upcoming six-part Lifetime documentary, The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, will feature 18-month-long interviews with Blanchard conducted within the prison walls. The interviews are expected to cover the events leading up to her mother's murder, her time in prison, and the unexpected turns her life has taken since her release on parole on Dec. 28.
One question some have asked Blanchard about her marriage is whether or not she wanted to try and live on her own, embracing her freedom, before settling down.
"Spending eight and a half years in prison, all I was was all alone," Blanchard explained to ET. "I was tired of sleeping in a bed by myself. I was tired of feeling like I had no one to share memories with. I always knew that I wanted to share it with someone, I just didn't know who. And now, I know who."
For Blanchard, there were a number of reasons why -- out of the hundreds of men who contacted her during her time behind bars -- she felt a connection with Anderson.
"Ryan's from Louisiana... and I'm originally from Louisiana, and I saw that, I'm kinda like, 'Oh, hey, someone from my home state!' So I wrote him a letter back and we became friends," she recalled, "and of course more than friends, and then now we're married."
For Blanchard, her wedding ring also seems to be a sign that fate introduced the lovebirds to one another.
"This is actually his mother's, so it was passed down to me," Blanchard said, showing off her ring.
"It was always meant to go to my wife," Anderson chimed in.
"And it fits perfectly! It didn't need to be adjusted at all or anything," Blanchard shared, explaining that makes her feel like their love was "meant to be."
As for expanding their family in the future, Blanchard said that, despite the trauma and challenges of her own childhood, she isn't against the idea of having kids of her own one day.
"I don't have any reservations," Blanchard shared. "We both have talked about starting a family, we just don't know when yet."
"My life is a little hectic right now. So we're just trying to take it day by day," she added. "We're just trying to start off the marriage on a good foot before we bring kids into this situation right now."
The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard airs Jan. 5, 6, and 7 on Lifetime.
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