Who Is Ken, The Man Gypsy Rose Blanchard Almost Married Before Ryan Anderson?

Although Gypsy Rose Blanchard spent eight years in prison, she still managed to garner her fair share of suitors. When Blanchard and her husband, Ryan Anderson, sat down for an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the formerly incarcerated star estimated that she received love letters from over 250 men. One of them was her former fiancé, Ken. Speaking to E! News, Blanchard revealed that he penned her a supportive letter after watching her 2017 documentary "Mommy Dead and Dearest." After she responded, it didn't take them long to develop a strong connection, and they started writing to each other more frequently. 

Eventually, writing turned to talking as they spent hours glued to their phones. Then, the couple took the natural next step and met up, with Ken kissing Blanchard within half an hour of laying eyes on her. Blanchard admitted that the kiss caught her off-guard because they were just friends at the time, but it didn't take her long to accept that she had romantic feelings for him, too. 

Soon, Blanchard got to meet Ken's mother and won her over too. "She told me the whole story about how he talked about me and how he has never talked about a girl like that before," she recalled. "She's a sweetheart and completely supportive of our relationship." In fact, Ken's mom inadvertently kickstarted their romance by recommending "Mommy Dead and Dearest" to him.

In the E! News interview, Gypsy Rose Blanchard confirmed that she and Ken initially bonded over their shared love of reading. She particularly loved how Ken had a huge heart and detailed how he went out of his way to ensure a dog inside a car was safe. Only a year after their first meeting, Ken popped the question during a regular visit. Blanchard acknowledged that they had discussed the idea of getting married previously, so the proposal didn't come as a total shock. Sadly, her simple silver band wasn't permitted in prison, so she had to part with it. 

In her dream wedding, Blanchard envisioned herself tying the knot outside under a beautiful gazebo, but she said she would happily settle for the visitation room at the prison. However, their wedding plans ultimately didn't come to fruition because the couple reportedly split up in August 2019. A source told E! News, "The two were planning to get married in January while Gypsy is still in prison, but they have now canceled those plans." They added, "Both Gypsy and Ken are brokenhearted over the situation and still have nothing but love for each other." 

However, the formerly incarcerated star's stepmom, Kristy, who is a part of Blanchard's supportive family, clarified less than a day later that they had reconciled. She explained that Blanchard and Ken had decided to take things one day at a time and had mutually agreed to keep their relationship more low key to protect it.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Ken ended their relationship for a second and final time in 2021. Fancy Marcelli, a family friend, told InTouch Weekly that they split up after Blanchard realized that Ken was only after her money. But we learned her perspective through Blanchard's 2024 e-book, "Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom," in which she disclosed that the public scrutiny from "The Act," a 2019 show based on her life, strained their relationship. "Ken was a private person and didn't want the attention or the scrutiny. While I understood and shared in his sentiment, I took it hard when he ended our relationship," Blanchard wrote (via Business Insider). 

The author felt incredibly isolated as she dealt with her first heartbreak and wished her mom, Dee Dee, was around so she could pour her heart out to her. In the Lifetime docuseries "The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard," she also admitted that their breakup made her sadly realize that it was rare for her to form deep connections with people and have them stick around.

Blanchard never fully got over her first love and even confessed to her husband, Ryan Anderson, that she'd had a dream where she broke up with him to be with Ken. Additionally, although Blanchard reassured Anderson that she was no longer in contact with Ken, he soon learned they'd spoken recently. After some arguments, Blanchard and Anderson resumed their normal marriage.