Did Gypsy Rose Blanchard Have Any Real Illnesses, Diagnosis?

There’s a lot of attention right now on Gypsy, including whether she had any real medical illnesses. Here’s what she’s shared.

So what illnesses did Gypsy believe she suffered from?

In a 20/20 special, Gypsy revealed that Dee Dee told people she had leukemia, asthma, vision and hearing impairment, muscular dystrophy, and seizures.

Gypsy believed most her mother’s imposed illnesses to be true, but eventually began to figure out that many of her disabilities weren’t real. “There are certain illnesses I knew I didn’t have. I knew I didn’t need the feeding tube; I knew that I could eat. And I knew that I could walk,” she said.

Well, did Gypsy suffer from any illnesses at all?

Gypsy believed one of her mother’s illness claims: “I did believe my mother when she said that I had leukemia,” she said in her interview with 20/20, but without any real medical records confirming that diagnosis, no one knows for sure. (Dee Dee previously claimed that most of Gypsy’s medical records were lost in Hurricane Katrina.)

In reality, the only health issue Gypsy suffers from is minor vision impairment in her left eye. “I have a little bit of a lazy eye, not all the time,” she said. Other than that, Gypsy has a perfectly clear bill of health.

When asked why she believed her mother and agreed to using a wheelchair and feeding tube when she knew she didn’t need them, she explained that she looked up to her mom. For most of her life, she was her only friend. “I was so young,” Gypsy said. “I believed that she knows best. I didn’t question it.”

Gypsy added that her mother was able to convince doctors of her illnesses with her Southern charm, friendliness, and convincing lies.

Dee Dee also had Gypsy see hundreds of doctors in order to keep them from noticing patterns. In one instance, a neurologist doubted Gypsy’s muscular dystrophy and told Dee Dee she had been misdiagnosed. Instead of being happy, Dee Dee stormed out and refused to return to that doctor, according to the 20/20 special.

According to Gypsy, Dee Dee hurt her because she was mentally ill. “She was constantly seeking attention for herself because she didn’t feel loved,” Gypsy told 20/20. “So let’s make this baby girl sick so it forever needs you.”

Since her release, Gypsy has since undergone a series of cosmetic procedures.

Since Gypsy was released from prison in December 2023, she’s opted for a number of cosmetic changes, including dyeing her hair blonde, getting dental work, and undergoing a rhinoplasty.

“I’m going through a personal transformation journey currently, and that includes a physical one, too,” she told People in April.

She later told ABC that she “wanted to do it for myself, my self-esteem, [and] what would make me feel beautiful about myself.”

And her nose isn’t the only thing that’s changed. Gypsy got porcelain caps to replace the silver teeth she’s had for many years, per TMZ. (Several of her teeth and salivary glands were removed by Dee Dee, who falsely claimed that Gypsy had tooth decay.)

She’s struggled with her mental health since her release.

Gypsy said during a recent panel that she’s struggled mentally with backlash she’s received online.

“I’m very much an introvert,” she said during a May panel, per People. “Coming out [of prison] and this media storm hit me… At first, I really, really was touched by the positivity that people were showing me.” But Gypsy said that the social media response “turned negative,” adding, “it started to have a negative effect on my mental health.”

Gypsy also said that she only recently started using social media again, noting that she doesn’t read the comments people write. “I’m just trying to live my life in the best way that I can,” she said. “That’s going to include missteps, but I learned from them.”

But she also told ABC that she feels like people want her to act a certain way.

“Quite honestly, I’m starting to feel like they want a perfect victim, and there is no such thing as a perfect victim,” she said of how the public views her. “In their mind, the perfect victim would have died. And so now that I survived, and the perpetrator of the abuse is the one that died, then I’m getting the hate.”

Gypsy acknowledged that she goes “through my own guilt on a daily basis, so it’s not like I can ever hide from that.” But she added that she can’t “crawl up in a ball,” saying, “I have to heal myself.”

She’s ready to step out of the spotlight.

In May, Gypsy told Entertainment Tonight that she’s had “wonderful opportunities” come her way after her prison release, but she expects them to fade. “I don’t see those lasting, and I think there comes a time where I have to make a choice,” she said. “When do I say, ‘Enough is enough?’ After so long of having my name in the spotlight, that time is coming really soon.”

She also discussed wanting to get a full-time job. “When things calm down and I have no obligations, I do want to get a 9 to 5, but first I have to learn the things that get me there,” she said.

Gypsy wouldn’t mind the hard work, either. “Part of me is like, ‘Maybe I should go work at McDonald’s.’ I love those French fries!” she said. “But I do like retail, too. Maybe something at the mall, like Sephora or something—because I love makeup.”

Kristin Canning is the features director at Women’s Health, where she assigns, edits and reports long-form features on emerging health research and technology, women’s health conditions, psychology, sexuality, mental health, reproductive justice, wellness entrepreneurs, women athletes, and the intersection of health, fitness, and culture for both the magazine and the website. She’s worked in health media for seven years, holding prior positions at Health, SELF, and Men’s Health. When she’s not writing and editing, you can find her running, hiking, biking, dancing, listening to podcasts, or planning her next outdoor adventure.

Korin Miller is a freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, with work appearing in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Self, Glamour, and more. She has a master’s degree from American University, lives by the beach, and hopes to own a teacup pig and taco truck one day.