Gypsy Rose Blanchard — the 32-year-old Munchausen by proxy victim who was released from a Missouri prison early Thursday morning — is recalling what her most excruciating botched surgery was.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the newly freed woman said the surgery was to “remove two salivary glands behind my neck.” She recalls that she “didn’t react well to the anesthesia,” which made the recovery process “really, really difficult.”
The Louisiana native served eight years behind bars for her role in the 2015 murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard. For most of Gypsy’s growing up years she was falsely led to believe she had various illnesses, resulting in her undergoing unnecessary salivary gland surgery.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard wants kids after release, but fears ‘difficult conversation’ about mother’s murder (Exclusive)
“Until today, I had the side effect of constantly having to clear my throat. So I’m always, if you hear me, that’s a constant I’ve had ever since. And that annoys people to no end – says Gypsy and adds that it is not her intention to bother anyone.
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“It’s because my saliva is very thick and I always have to clear my throat. So that was a negative side effect for me. And the reason I had that surgery is because my mother put it [Orajel] on the right that my girls drool at the appointment and that I complain to the doctor yes [I drool] too much.”
Gypsy said that when she wasn’t around the doctor, she would ask her mother if the procedures were necessary.
“She would get very, very angry with me and start manipulating me in such a way that she would take her love away from me,” he says.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard.
Courtesy of the Blanchard family
Gypsy, her husband and her family will be featured in Lifetime’s exciting new docuseries Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchardpremiering on January 5.
“As a survivor of relentless child abuse, this documentary series chronicles my quest for liberation and journey through self-discovery,” says Gypsy in the trailer. “I am myself and I am not afraid to reveal the hidden parts of my life that have never been revealed until now.”
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE on Thursday, Gypsy described her teenage years as a “rollercoaster,” where she would sometimes have moments of “rebellion and then moments of being very submissive.”
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Gypsy Rose Blanchard.
Andrew Jansen / USA TODAY NETWORK
“So in a moment of submission, things would be really good and we would do things together that would be fun for us. In the evening we would watch a movie, go to the zoo together. We would do little things together around town that were fun and bonding moments. And then I would be a little more rebellious and question the illnesses, and then it would be really, really toxic,” says Gypsy, comparing their mother-daughter relationship to domestic violence.
“I tried to be as respectful as possible, but sometimes it was very difficult, so I would also raise my voice.” But she would call me things like b—-, w—-, s—, devil’s spawn. So all those conditions really, really took an emotional and mental toll on me.”
Today Gypsy is married and excited to continue her life with her new husband Ryan Scott Anderson in Louisiana.
“I’m ready for freedom,” Gypsy tells PEOPLE.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, a six-hour special offering unprecedented proxy access to Munchausen’s most popular victim, premieres January 5th on Lifetime at 8pm ET/PT.
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Source: HIS Education