In the midst of a major transition in her life, Gypsy Rose Blanchard is making a change in her appearance as well.
The famous Munchausen by proxy victim, 32, tells PEOPLE exclusively that she is preparing to undergo rhinoplasty to change the shape and appearance of her nose.
“I am currently on a personal journey of transformation and that includes a physical one,” she says in an exclusive statement. “Wish me luck with my surgery and keep an eye on it all this summer Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up.”
According to Blanchard’s close friend Nadiya Vizier, the procedure is something he has wanted for a long time. “She said she’s a little nervous, but she’s happy it’s going to happen,” Viziris tells PEOPLE. “The main thing is that she wanted a more feminine nose. She just wants to build it up and give it a more feminine look.”
Gypsy Rose Blanchard TikTok
And, her friend says, that change is Blanchard’s prerogative. “My main message is simply, people should let her live, let her live, if they know she’s doing something right or wrong, let her experience it. Let her learn from it. I feel that somehow people I’m still trying to control her.”
ABC/Michael Le Brecht II
News of the proceeding, scheduled for April 5 in Lafayette, La., comes a week after it was revealed that Blanchard has split from her husband of nearly two years, Ryan Anderson, who appears in the upcoming docuseries.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty
In the wake of their split, Blanchard has been spotted spending quality time with her ex-fiancé Ken Urker, who joined her in getting matching tattoos earlier this week.
“They are very good,” Urker’s mother, Raina Williams, told PEOPLE of the couple after confirming that they had reconnected following Blanchard and Anderson’s split. “Ken is just a supportive friend to her.”
In Blanchard’s 2024 Lifetime documentary The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchardrevealed she was still in touch with Urker in the weeks leading up to her 2022 wedding to Anderson and admitted she still had feelings for him.
Courtesy of Gypsy Rose and Ryan Anderson
During a phone conversation between Anderson and Blanchard, she also reveals that she dreamed about leaving Anderson for Urker, causing an argument between the pair. But it seems the couple were able to move past the comments at the time and continue their relationship.
Although she and Anderson seemed to be in wedded bliss for the first month of their relationship, Blanchard announced her split from the school teacher on social media last week.
“People have been asking what’s going on in my life. Unfortunately, my husband and I are going through a divorce and I’ve moved with my parents back home to the bay. I have the support of my family and friends to guide me through this. I’m learning to listen to my heart Right now I need time to let myself find… who I am,” she wrote in a statement obtained by PEOPLE from her private Facebook account.
Nathan Papes-USA TODAY NETWORK
This year has brought one huge change after another for Blanchard, who was released in December 2023 after serving eight years of a 10-year sentence for conspiring to kill her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, with her then-boyfriend , Nicholas. Godejohn.
“I’m ready to expand, and I think that goes for every aspect of my life,” she previously told PEOPLE in an exclusive interview shortly before its release.
Blanchard’s upcoming surgery will likely be the first in which she will be fully involved. While on trial for her mother’s murder, she testified that from childhood through her teenage years she suffered from numerous unnecessary surgeries, orchestrated by her mother who misled doctors into believing her daughter had various illnesses.
As for her recovery, “she’ll be resting for about two weeks,” says Vizier.
Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up premieres June 3 on Lifetime.
