Every stage in life offers an opportunity for lessons. And being released from prison is no exception, as Gypsy-Rose Blanchard is discovering.
This admission came as the 32-year-old was being interviewed about her documentary series Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard in a panel discussion.
Blanchard was released from prison in December 2023, after serving eight years of her 10-year prison sentence.
She had been put behind bars for conspiring to murder her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard in 2015, who had subjected her daughter to years of unnecessary medical procedures.
Speaking on the An Evening with Lifetime: Conversations On Controversies panel, she said: "I think the biggest lesson that I've learned is take your time.
Advert
"Because I think too often, I get also excited about my newfound freedom, and so I think I rush to do things, I want to cram it all in, so I'm just learning to take my time."
Blanchard admitted there had been teething pains in her first few months outside prison.
She said: "These last four months has been met with challenges and ups and downs.
Advert
"But that's life, right? So I'm just enjoying it."
Life on the outside has also brought with it some firsts: "I got to go to the beach for the first time [today], and that was really exciting. I walked around The Grove, went to Sephora for the first time, so this has just definitely been a wonderful day for me.
"It's so much ... just eating at Taco Bell for the first time ... it's hard to pinpoint just one."
Advert
Things that the rest of us take for granted have proved fascinating for her.
Executive producer Melissa Moore revealed that fridges with ice dispensers are a big deal to Blanchard.
Moore said: "She's like, 'I'm going to take a picture by it. Do you think that'd be bragging?' I'm like, 'No, Gypsy, that'll be okay.'
"And then it just got me thinking. I'm like, 'Oh, we have an ice maker'.
Advert
"When I saw her free for the first time in New York, I asked her about the shower because I remember the prison showers and just her not being able to control the temperature, and she was so blown away you can control the temperature of your shower.
"Her experiencing freedom shows me to appreciate the luxuries, the simple things in life. And that's what I take away."
The four months since her release have had their ups and downs - with Blanchard announcing her separation from her husband Ryan Scott Anderson in March.
Then last month, she reunited with her ex-fiancé Ken Urker.
Topics: Gypsy Rose Blanchard
Ben Thompson