Gypsy Rose Blanchard‘s fiancé Ken Urker, who was also the father of her child, died on what would have been his 34th birthday, according to reports.
Urker died in his bed of an overdose at his home in Raceland, Louisiana, Blanchard told People.
“I don’t know if it was intentional or not,” she said. “He was not in a good state of mind lately.”
Blanchard added: “I’m in disbelief. I can’t think. I’ve screamed until my throat burns.”
Deputies with the Lafourche Sheriff’s Office were called to the Raceland residence on Thursday around 6:15 p.m., TMZ reported. When they arrived on the scene, they found Urker already dead.
While an investigation into the matter is ongoing, Blanchard noted that Urker dealt with an “unimaginable level of public scrutiny” and “relentless cyberbullying” on social media prior to his death.
“The cruelty directed toward him was something no human being should have to endure,” she said. “I believe the tremendous weight of that scrutiny and harassment had a profound impact on him, and I hope his passing serves as a reminder that there is a real person behind every screen, every headline, and every comment.”
Blanchard met Urker through a pen pal program while she was serving time in prison. She pleaded guilty in 2016 to second-degree murder for her role in the 2015 killing of her mother, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, who experts believe had Munchausen syndrome by proxy. While alive, she falsely claimed Blanchard suffered from a range of medical issues, including leukemia, muscular dystrophy, and other grave illnesses. She also forced her daughter to use a wheelchair and a feeding tube.
After years of abuse, Gypsy orchestrated her mother’s murder with her then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, who carried out the fatal stabbing and is currently serving a life sentence without parole.
Urker proposed to Blanchard during a prison visit in October 2018, and the couple welcomed their daughter, Aurora Raina Urker, in December 2024.
“Ken was an amazing father and a man who was deeply loved,” Blanchard said. “He will forever be my soulmate and my red string, a connection that time, distance, and even death can never erase.”