Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s ex-husband, Ryan Anderson, is speaking out after her late ex-fiancé Ken Urker’s death.
“I found out through Instagram,” Anderson, 40, revealed during the Friday, October 2, episode of The Sarah Fraser Show. “I didn’t believe it at first. I was like no.”
Anderson, who was married to Blanchard, 35, from July 2022 to December 2024, noted that his “initial thought was shock” and he wondered, “How’d that happen?”
Anderson noted his surprise quickly shifted to worry for his ex-wife and her 21-month-old daughter, Aurora, whom she shared with Urker.
“My immediate thought went to, ‘How’s Gypsy?’” he recalled. “My immediate thought was, ‘How’s she doing. And what about their kid?’” (Blanchard and Urker welcomed their daughter in December 2024 after reconnecting following her split from Anderson that spring.)
Us confirmed on Thursday, October 1, that Urker was found unresponsive in a Raceland, Louisiana, residence on his 34th birthday.
The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office told Us that officers “responded to a residence” on Thursday “after receiving a call at 6:15 p.m.” Police later confirmed that Urker “was found dead upon arrival,” adding, “At this time, we are continuing the death investigation.”
According to a police report obtained by Us, Gypsy’s sister-in-law Anita Blanchard called 911 for a wellness check, claiming Urker was in “a dark place” and missed work on Thursday.
When authorities gained entry into the home, they reportedly discovered drug paraphernalia in the bathroom next to “a brown powdery substance.” A syringe, handgun and two shot glasses were also found beside Urker’s bed on a nightstand, per the report.
While Anderson — who fell in love with Gypsy while she was in prison for her role in the 2015 murder of her mother Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard — said he “never really saw eye to eye” with Urker, he expressed sadness over the events that transpired.
“You still hate to hear that somebody passed away, you know what I mean?” Anderson said on Friday.
He noted that since he and Gypsy have not been in contact for “almost a year,” he reached out to her father, Rod, to make sure everyone was OK.
“I texted Rod, her dad,” Anderson recalled. “I said, ‘Hey, man, I’m hearing this news. If it’s true tell Gypsy I’m sorry.’”
He also asked Gypsy’s father to tell her, “I’m here if she needs me,” adding, “I was always somebody who could make her laugh when she was sad or give her comfort.”
Urker and Gypsy became pen pals when she was in prison for seven years. After watching the HBO documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest about the case, he wrote her a letter of support.
Urker later visited Gypsy in prison where they shared their first kiss. He proposed to her in October 2018, but they split the following year.
Gypsy moved on with Anderson, whom she married in a prison ceremony in July 2022. Gypsy got out of prison in December 2023, but her relationship with Anderson didn’t last long in the outside world and the pair divorced in 2024.
Gypsy and Urker confirmed their reconciliation that April and welcomed their daughter in December 2024. Urker’s sister Autumn Urker told The Sun the couple split “over a month ago.”
Anderson said on Friday that following Ken’s death his “main concern is Aurora and Gypsy and his family. I care. I wish her the best.”
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