When Gypsy-Rose Blanchard was released from prison last December, she was ready to put her dark past behind her. However, she carried with her the fear that the past might return to her.
“I was worried about recidivism before I got out of prison because that thought crossed my mind,” Blanchard, 33, tells PEOPLE, opening a wide-ranging exclusive interview amid the release of her new memoir My Time to Standavailable now.
In her book, she talks about years of abusing opioids as a way to cope with the victimization and infantilization of her mother, Dee Dee, whose painkillers she would secretly use.
Dee Dee Blanchard and Gypsy-Rose Blanchard.
Courtesy of the Blanchard family
“Her emotions were a whip against my self-worth. I found solace and escape in drugs, especially after we started fighting a lot,” Blanchard writes in the new book.
“I remember the first time I asked for pain pills without any pain, and it was after my mom and I had been yelling at each other for what seemed like over an hour. I just wanted to relax. So I took one of her pills and exhaled.”
Gypsy-Rose Blanchard recalls shooting mom with BB gun, bedridden in new book: Read excerpt (Exclusive)
Thus began Blanchard’s addiction, which she says she battled the night ex-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn took her mother’s life at her request. Addiction followed her to prison, but after years behind bars, prison is where she finally got clean.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(661x266:663x268)/Gypsy-Rose-Blanchard-010324-e4d53fb1355c40c0b19d4415cd6d3838.jpg)
Gypsy-Rose Blanchard.
Lifetime
Now, as she recalls using it while she was in prison, she recalls: “It was like, okay, you’ve got to poke around. You’ve got to find it, really dig into who has what in the prison.”
Gypsy Rose Blanchard Talks About Her Sobriety: ‘I Wanted to Get Out of Prison a New Woman’ (Exclusive)
So when it came time to go out, she was worried, thinking “in the real world, I’m sure it’s more affordable.” Fortunately, she says, “I didn’t go looking, so I don’t know how available it is.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(539x0:541x2)/Gypsy-Rose-Blanchard-Mia-Blanchard-Family-010324-6d4819ce25ea41f2a3b3de8519aa6901.jpg)
Rod, Gypsy, Mia and Kristy Blanchard.
Mia Blanchard/Instagram
She credits one thing for keeping her level-headed: her family, including dad Rod, step-mom Kristy and her half-siblings Mia and Dylan. “When I came out, I was surprised to learn that the family dynamic kept me away from those things,” she says. “I wasn’t thinking about anything. I didn’t have any desires.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2)/my-time-to-stand-gypsy-rose-blanchard-042924-2-6c73407a264a4e0a80728843ffc2e2d6.jpg)
My time to stand with Gypsy-Rose Blanchard.
BenBella books
Although she’s had well-documented ups and downs, including intense public scrutiny and a contentious divorce from Ryan Anderson after a few short months of marriage on the side, Blanchard, who is currently married to boyfriend Ken Urker, has managed to stay clean.
Gypsy-Rose Blanchard shares birthday details — including daughter’s name: ‘I felt supported’ (Exclusive)
“I’m very blessed,” she says, “that even in the hardest times of the year dealing with social media trolls and confidence that could be knocked down in my watching and how busy it is, I still never thought about going back .”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the SAMHSA Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education