Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s relationship with ex-fiancé Ken Urker, explained

Gypsy Rose Blanchard has been spending time again with her former fiancée, Ken Urker.

Blanchard, 32, was spotted looking cozy with Urker on several occasions in April following her split the month before with her husband of less than two years, Ryan Anderson, whom she married in a prison wedding ceremony in 2022.

Blanchard spent eight years in prison for her role in the 2015 murder of her allegedly abusive mother, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, before she was released in December 2023.

She met Urker after he wrote her a "letter of support" in 2017, she told E! News in 2019. In 2018, Urker popped the question while Blanchard was still behind bars.

Blanchard, whose life story inspired both the HBO documentary "Mommy Dead and Dearest" and Hulu mini-series "The Act," parted ways with Urker sometime after August 2019.

But it appears the two have been back in contact, based on sightings in recent weeks.

After the pair were photographed holding hands in early April, Urker's mother, Raina Williams, told People that her son was nothing more than a "supportive friend" to Blanchard.

TODAY.com has reached out to Blanchard for comment and has not heard back at the time of publication.

Read on to learn more about Gypsy Rose Blanchard's relationship with her ex Ken Urker.

They met after Urker sent Blanchard a 'letter of support' in prison

Blanchard met Urker after he wrote her a "letter of support" after watching the HBO documentary "Mommy Dead and Dearest" in 2017, Blanchard told E! News in 2019.

The two became pen pals, and later began talking on the phone, while Blanchard served her prison sentence. Their friendship turned to romance the first time Urker visited Blanchard in prison and kissed her, she told E! News.

"He came and it was kind of a funny story but within the first 30 minutes he leaned over and gave me the most wonderful kiss of my whole life," she recalled to E! News.

"The kiss he gave me was quite passionate," she added. "I looked at him and was like, 'I didn’t even know you liked me like that,' and he said ‘Yeah, I have for a while.' And I’m like, ‘I have for a while too.'"

Blanchard said both her and Urker's family were 'supportive' of their relationship

Blanchard told E! News both Urker's mom, Raina Williams, whom she called a "sweetheart," and her father and step-mother, Rod and Kristy Blanchard, were "completely supportive" of romance with Urker.

Blanchard recalled Urker meeting her father for the first during a prison visit.

"It was a beautiful moment because Ken looked at my dad and was like, ‘You know, I really love your daughter and I have the best intentions with her and I really want to marry her and I would like your blessing,'" she recalled.

"My dad turned at him and looked at me and looked back at him said, “Welcome to the family, I hope you can take care of her.' Gave him the blessing and made me want to cry," she added.

Blanchard said she and Urker were both 'nerds' who loved Harry Potter

Blanchard lovingly described her fiancé to E! News as a "kind of a nerd," who shared many of her interests.

"I love 'Lord of the Rings,' Harry Potter; we are particularly totally in love with Harry Potter. We can’t wait to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter when I am free and he’s one of those people that has a very kind heart," she said.

She said Urker was 'very understanding' and 'very sensitive'

Blanchard told E! News that she and Urker were able to communicate about their issues rather than fight about them.

"He’s very understanding, very supportive, very easy to talk things out with. He’s not one of those people who is going to be like, ‘Well this is your fault.'" said Blanchard.

"He’s very sensitive to my emotions, especially because I’m in prison, my emotions are a little bit heightened with me," she added.

Urker popped the question in October 2018 while Blanchard was still behind bars

Urker's October 2018 proposal to her behind bars didn't come "out of the blue," Blanchard said during the same E! News interview.

"We bounced around the idea, we have a pretty solid thing going and we’re pretty sure this is what we want," she recalled. "So, on the October visit he held my hands close and told me how much I meant to him and he’s like, ‘I would really, really be honored if I could have your hand in marriage,’ and I said yes."

She added that when Urker popped the question, he gave her a silver band as an engagement ring, which was later confiscated by prison staff.

The pair had talked about having children together

Blanchard and Urker were interested in starting a family together with Blanchard envisioning the couple welcoming "two or three" children, she told E! News.

"My mother didn’t allow me to have a relationship with my half-siblings, so growing up as an only child, I would want my child to have a sibling and to have that bond," she said.

Blanchard said media publicity was the biggest challenge for her and Urker as a couple

Blanchard got candid about the challenges she and Urker faced as a couple because of publicity around her case.

"Ever since my case was made public four years ago, this has been a non-stop roller-coaster ride for me of media hounding. I’m always in some form or fashion on TV," she lamented to E! News. "Being in the public eye, as well as the long distance nature of our relationship, is definitely a challenge."

She added that "tension" had developed in the relationship since the facility where she was serving her sentence had implemented a new rule limiting her phone time.

"We’ve been trying to adjust to it, and I’ve been trying to stay positive. So that’s the big difficulty with a prison relationship; having good, steady communication," she said.

The friendly exes appeared in a TikTok Live together in April

In April 2024, Blanchard and Urker appeared in a TikTok Live together to squash rumors that they had rekindled their romance — or that Blanchard was pregnant with Urker's baby — reported "Entertainment Tonight."

"We're just hanging out as friends. That's all it is," said a smiling Urker as Blanchard sat beside him.

The two also showed off their new matching Husky tattoos, explaining that the image had no symbolic meaning for them. "It's just a Husky. That's all that it is," said Urker.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com