Gypsy Rose Blanchard and her now-estranged husband, Ryan Anderson, allegedly got into such a big argument prior to their split that the ex-con feared the schoolteacher would become physically violent.
“Gypsy said that she was afraid he was going to hit her,” her close pal Nadiya Vizier told People Friday.
“He didn’t — but that happened in the past with her mother. So, her first instinct was to tighten up and be prepared.”
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The tattoo artist, 22, claimed at one point Anderson, 36, “got in” Blanchard’s face and “screamed,” but she was able to get to “safety” and call her lawyer.
Vizier added, “Ryan is a big guy, and she told me it was really scary.”
It’s unclear what sparked the disagreement, which reportedly took place at a home in Lake Charles, La.
Vizier claimed that Anderson showed signs of being controlling throughout the marriage.
“It was like she was on a leash,” Vizier alleged of her close friend.
“What’s the difference between being locked in a prison cell and feeling locked in her own home and marriage? She didn’t want to put up with it anymore.”
Page Six reached out to Anderson and Blanchard’s rep for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Following the big blowout, Blanchard decided to separate from Anderson, per Vizier.
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“Unfortunately my husband and I are going through a separation and I moved in with my parents home down the bayou,” she announced via a private Facebook post on March 28 after deleting her public social media accounts, which had millions of followers.
“I am learning to listen to my heart. Right now I need time to let myself find… who I am.”
The estranged couple married in a jailhouse ceremony in July 2022 while Blanchard served eight years for the murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, who suffered from Munchausen by proxy syndrome and allegedly put her through years of abuse as a result.
Gypsy was released on parole in December 2023, and she lived with Anderson for just three months before they called it quits.
Since then, the convicted felon has found comfort in her ex-fiancé Ken Urker, with whom she’s been seen holding hands and got matching tattoos.
Vizier told People of the friendship, though, “There are so many rumors about her out there.
“I had to finally speak up. I want people to know she didn’t leave Ryan for Ken. She left him because she wasn’t happy anymore.”
Gypsy’s cousin Bobby Pitre also told the outlet, “Gypsy realizes that Ryan isn’t great, and she gets out of it,” before giving a more hopeful outlook on whether his relative may have a romance with Urker.
He added, “She’s obviously in love with the first guy, Ken. You know? That’s who she’s been hanging out with. She obviously loves him.”
