Ryan Anderson 'shocked' by death of Gypsy Rose Blanchard's ex-partner Ken Urker

Ryan Anderson, ex-husband of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, says he was shocked by Ken Urker's apparent overdose death in Louisiana and offered his support.

Ex-husband reacts to Ken Urker's apparent drug overdose death in Louisiana

Ryan Anderson, the former husband of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, says he was "shocked" by the death of her ex-partner Ken Urker, who was found dead at his home in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, on Thursday — his 34th birthday. As theguardian.com reports, Anderson made the remarks during an appearance on The Sarah Fraser Show podcast on Friday, saying he would be there for Blanchard and her daughter "if she needs me".

Urker's death was reported to the local sheriff's office as an apparent drug overdose. A Lafourche Parish sheriff's office report stated that Blanchard's half-brother and his wife had gone to Urker's home, spotted him lying unconscious through an outside window, and called authorities. Deputies who entered the property found syringes and a spoon "next to a brown powdery substance" in a bathroom. Urker was found dead in a bed next to a nightstand holding a syringe and a handgun.

Anderson, 40, told podcast host Sarah Fraser that disbelief was his first reaction to the news.

"I was like, 'No,'" he said. "My initial thought was shock, like, 'Hmm, how'd that happen?' … Shocked that he passed away."

He said his thoughts immediately turned to Blanchard, 32, and the one-year-old daughter she had with Urker following the end of Anderson's own marriage to Blanchard.

Anderson acknowledged that his exchanges with Urker — by phone and text — "were never good". Even so, he said he contacted Blanchard's father, Rod, after learning of Urker's death.

"I said … 'Tell Gypsy I'm sorry,'" Anderson recounted. "Tell her I'm here for her if she needs me."

Anderson described himself as "always somebody who could make her laugh when she was sad or give her comfort", though he said he was uncertain whether Blanchard would take him up on the offer of friendship.

Blanchard speaks out on cyberbullying and loss

In a social media statement posted on Friday, Blanchard said Urker "endured an unimaginable level of public scrutiny and relentless cyberbullying across social media platforms, including TikTok and Reddit" before his death.

"The cruelty directed toward him was something no human being should have to endure," she wrote. "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."

In a separate interview published on Friday by People, Blanchard said she did not know whether Urker's death was intentional.

Despite the overdose reporting, a Lafourche Parish sheriff's office captain said the case remained under investigation as of Friday. Captain Brennan Matherne confirmed that investigators had not yet found "any signs of foul play".

Blanchard described Urker as "an amazing father and a man who was deeply loved", adding: "He will forever be my soulmate and my red string, a connection that time, distance and even death can never erase."

Background: Blanchard's prison years and tumultuous relationships

Gypsy Rose Blanchard spent eight years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in connection with the 2015 stabbing death of her mother, Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard. Dee Dee Blanchard was found stabbed to death in her home in Springfield, Missouri, in June 2015. Gypsy Rose gave her then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, the knife used to kill her mother, hiding in a bathroom during the attack. Godejohn, whom Blanchard had met online, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The case attracted widespread attention after it emerged that Dee Dee Blanchard had forced her daughter to pretend she was seriously ill and to undergo unnecessary medical procedures.

Blanchard met Urker while serving her sentence. She said on the We Need to Talk podcast in June that Urker had contacted her while she was still incarcerated, after watching Mommy Dead and Dearest, a 2017 documentary about the pair. Urker proposed in October 2018, though the couple later broke off their engagement before reuniting in August 2019. They subsequently split again and spent several years apart.

In 2022, while still imprisoned, Blanchard married Anderson. She discussed that marriage publicly on the ABC News programme 20/20 in January 2024, shortly after her release from prison in late December 2023. She separated from Anderson roughly two months after that interview.

Blanchard and Urker rekindled their relationship in April 2024. Eight months later, in late December 2024, they welcomed a daughter, Aurora.

Source: Google News MT