Trigger warning: This article mentions substance abuse.
Gypsy-Rose Blanchard’s mindset was to start her life on a clean slate after getting out of prison, but deep down she feared an aspect of her dark past would come back to haunt her — opioid addiction. In an interview with People magazine, the reality TV star admitted that she felt suicidal again before getting out of prison.
Blanchard spoke with the outlet to promote her new memoir My Time to Stand, where she discussed her opioid abuse when she was bullied and infantilized by her mother, Dee Dee. Blanchard admitted, “Her feelings were like a whip against my self-worth. I found solace and release in drugs, especially when we started fighting a lot.”
She remembered that she had asked for painkillers after a huge fight with her mother, but she stopped taking one of Dee-Dee’s heavy-dose pills and felt relieved, thus beginning her addiction. Blanchard also claimed that she was struggling with this issue the night her boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn murdered her mother. The addiction did not end when he was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment, which was later reduced.
Given a second chance, Blanchard wanted to leave her past behind for good and find her own identity outside of her criminal history. However, the thought occurred to him that opioids would become “more accessible” once they were phased out. “I haven’t looked for it, so I don’t really know how accessible it is,” she said.
Surprisingly, his father Rod, stepmother Christy, and his half-siblings Mia and Dylan supported him after his release from prison, and the family dynamics kept him from that idea. He admitted, “I haven’t thought about doing anything. I don’t have any cravings.”
The memoir also documents the ups and downs of her life, including intense public scrutiny and a divorce from Ryan Anderson. Blanchard, who is expecting her first child with boyfriend Ken Urker, admitted she feels “blessed” to have found stability after overcoming one of the toughest moments of her life.
She added, “Dealing with social media trolls and all the scrutiny can be low on self-esteem and despite how hectic it is, I never thought about going back to that.”
If you know someone who is struggling with alcohol or substance abuse, please contact the authorities and report it. There are many helplines available for this.
