Christmas came a few days late for newly minted Gypsy Rose Blanchard – but she still managed to celebrate with family and friends.
Her father Rod and stepmother Kristy were both present at a secret hideout outside Kansas City on Thursday evening, less than 24 hours after her release from a Missouri prison, can reveal.
Munchausen proxy victim Gypsy was released from prison Thursday morning after serving seven years for the 2015 murder of her abusive mother Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard.
Her post-incarceration life began with a night in a budget hotel with husband Ryan Anderson, followed by a trip to the Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse – where she posed in new sneakers for and giggled: “I love them.”
Exclusive photos show Gypsy Rose's father Rod Blanchard removing boxes and wrapping paper from the garage after a belated Christmas party at an Airbnb rental outside Kansas City on Thursday
Rod and his wife Kristy reunited with Gypsy for the first time since she was released from prison on Thursday after serving a seven-year sentence
Gypsy Rose Blanchard created an Instagram account and posted her first selfie after prison
The family gathered on Thursday evening for an emotional Christmas gathering at the rented house near Kansas City where she lives with her teacher husband Ryan, 36
Gypsy's to-do list includes a book launch, documentaries and, reportedly, tickets to Sunday's Kansas City Chiefs game for an unlikely meeting with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
But before that, she enjoyed an emotional Christmas gathering Thursday night with her father and stepmother, Rod and Kristy Blanchard, at an Airbnb rental in Overland Park, where she is staying with 36-year-old teacher Ryan.
A handful of close friends arrived with gifts for their newly released friend, while a television production crew filmed Gypsy's every move.
In an interview last week, Kristy mentioned how Gypsy was looking forward to Christmas with family – even if Santa would have to wait another three days to pay her a visit.
“We celebrate Christmas.” I have a Christmas tree, I gave her so many presents. “I actually overdid it,” Kristy told NewsNation.
“Oh, we're doing a spa day too… we'll go get her a pedicure, manicure, facial, haircut, color if she wants, you know, everything that goes with it, and bring her shopping. “She can't wait.”
Rod and his wife, Kristy, left the house early Friday morning, presumably on their way home to Louisiana.
Gypsy and husband Ryan made a pit stop at a McDonald's drive-thru near Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday to grab lunch for themselves and their film crew
The abuse victim has been on the move since his release, traveling around the Kansas City area while filming her upcoming Lifetime movie
The couple caught up with lunch and then appeared to drive to Springfield, Missouri, where Gypsy lived with her late mother
Gypsy and her husband were seen heading out later that morning – with her film crew in tow – and appeared to be on their way to Springfield, Missouri, where she lived with her late mother Dee Dee.
The couple drove off in their white Cadillac sedan and stopped at a McDonald's drive-thru south of Kansas City, where they ordered food for themselves and the production team.
On Friday, Gypsy celebrated her freedom by posting her first post-prison selfie on Instagram.
The 32-year-old shared a reflection of herself smiling in a blue and white faded sweater and jeans with the caption, “First selfie of freedom!”
In the first hour after posting the image, Blanchard racked up more than 160,000 likes and thousands of messages of support.
Blanchard spent her first day of freedom shopping for shoes, purchasing two pairs of sneakers at a nearby mall.
She was seen leaving a Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Chillicothe, Missouri, on Thursday – where she crashed overnight, shortly after being released from jail nearly 12 hours earlier.
Rod and his wife Kristy left the house early Friday morning, presumably on their way home to Louisiana – but not before putting away the wrapping paper and packaging
In interviews last week, relatives described how much Gypsy was looking forward to Christmas with her family
Gypsy (pictured at right as a child with her father) is seen at left in a prison photo with father Rod and stepmother Kristy Blanchard
The ex-convict wore a frayed sweatshirt, jeans and only socks on her feet. Her husband helped her carry her belongings – including two plastic bags full of snacks – to their silver Cadillac sedan, photos obtained by show.
They then drove to a local mall where she purchased two pairs of sneakers.
The couple left the $150-a-night hotel around 11:15 a.m. in a convoy of cars including producers and a camera crew who had been following the abuse victim for her Lifetime show.
They had installed GoPro cameras in the car to capture their reaction.
Gypsy is expected to attend Sunday's Kansas City Chiefs game against the Cincinatti Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium, where she will have an unlikely clash with Taylor Swift.
Hours earlier Thursday, Ryan Scott Anderson, the teacher she married behind bars last year, was seen at 3:20 a.m. at the Chillicothe Correctional Facility in northern Missouri to pick up his wife.
A handful of close friends arrived with gifts for their newly released friend, while a television production crew filmed Gypsy's every move
After her release, guests come to the secret hideout to visit Gypsy Rose
His Cadillac sedan, with Bret Wrestling's “The Hitman” Hart sticker on the front license plate, showed up minutes later to whisk Gypsy away to the budget hotel for her first night of freedom.
The 32-year-old offender spent her childhood pretending to be a wheelchair user after Claudine “Dee Dee” Blanchard shaved her daughter's head, pumped her up on drugs and convinced the world she had leukemia and muscular dystrophy.
Their “unbreakable” bond ended when Gypsy escaped her twisted mother's control in 2015 by having her smitten internet boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn sneak into her Springfield, Missouri, home to stab 48-year-old Dee Dee.
Gypsy was sentenced to 10 years in prison for matricide but was granted early parole in September after friends and family members asked authorities to hold her accountable for the cruel abuse and unnecessary medical procedures she suffered while performing at charity events and fundraising campaigns were presented cynically.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard's first stop on Thursday was an off-Broadway shoe warehouse in Liberty, just outside Kansas City, to buy some new shoes after she left prison in socks
Gypsy was photographed in public for the first time since her release from prison after checking out of a Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Chillicothe, where she spent her first night of freedom
The two spent the rest of the night at a hotel in Chillicothe before checking out later that morning to head to Kansas City
The network's cameras have already been following her every move as Gypsy enjoys her first days of freedom, which will reportedly include a spa, a shopping trip and a Kansas City Chiefs game on Sunday – where she told TMZ she hopes to meet Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
Fans can look forward to more snippets on social media profiles set up ahead of her release, including a TikTok page – which already has over 400,000 followers – that describes her as a “public figure/speaker” and on her new e-book “Released: Conversations” linked on the eve of freedom.
Gypsy's media appearances and prison interviews include Dr. Phil, Good Morning America and 20/20, while Hulu, Netflix and Lifetime have all aired TV dramas based on her ordeal.
She appeared in the 2017 HBO documentary “Mommy Dead and Dearest” and has an upcoming three-part documentary, “The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard,” airing January 5-7 on Lifetime.