It’s been a little over a year since Gypsy Rose Blanchard re-entered the real world after serving eight years in prison for her part in the murder of her mother with her then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn. And a lot has happened since then – a marriage, a divorce, and now a baby!

Following Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s story since the end of season one of Life After Lockup has been trivial as Gypsy has kept much of her life private – as she has every right and reason to.

Since the conception of her daughter and the speculation surrounding the case of ‘who the father was’, Gypsy has been keeping a good part of her life with Ken private, leaving social media and journalists to reach for the material. And the media looooves to hate Gypsy.

I’ve watched several of the reels in-between seasons of Life After Lockup that Snapchat has been posting, twisting footage to fit whatever dialogue they were pushing about Gypsy’s life now. But it was clear that we had to wait for season 2 to know the real story.

Rumors and gossip circulated for a long time, attacking both Gypsy and Ken Urker after their reunion shortly after Gypsy left Ryan. Ken Urker and Gypsy were first together and even engaged while Gypsy was in prison. But the relationship ended when Ken decided Gypsy needed a chance to grow without him. The two reconnected when Ken reached out to Kristy, Gypsy’s stepmother, and expressed feelings of remorse for leaving Gypsy.

First, many accused Gypsy of faking her pregnancy and doubted that it was Ken’s child. Then the drama with Gypsy’s ex-husband, Ryan Anderson and the Louisiana courts ensued, leading Ken and Gypsy to get DNA tested to prove that Ken is indeed the father of the child.

Despite all of the changes and gossip surrounding her ability to be a mother, Gypsy has one thing to say to all of those who are ready to judge her.

“Let me be a mom before you say I am a bad one.”

This girl has been through a lot and even now we can see how society is still prone to victim blaming. Gypsy was in a situation where everyone was expecting her to be an adult when the adult in her life couldn’t even be an adult. She was put in a situation where she had to make a decision that none of us on the outside looking in could fathom, let alone wrap our heads around when the truth of her circumstances came out. Why are we so quick to expect the person being abused to be mature when the abuser is overlooked? Why must all of the accountability fall in the hands of those who need the most support?

Still to this day, I am baffled by the reach manipulation that Deedee Blanchard exerted over doctors, social workers and a whole community and her daughter to believe the lies she needed to keep up to scam money out of others. And for someone to convince a medical professional that their child needs an unnecessary surgery is even more flabbergasting. Gypsy had no control in that situation and every avenue of escape failed her.

Gypsy is human and makes mistakes and she isn’t ignorant of that.

She is very aware of her situation and the cycles she must break. And she can’t break them unless given the chance to. And it isn’t anyone’s place to judge – if put in her situation, wouldn’t you want a second chance at life too?

Gypsy’s case holds near and dear to my heart. And I have high hopes for her. No, I do not wish to seek her out as I respect her and see her as a person, not a spectacle to idolize. I wouldn’t like that attention either. But if we ever met by chance it would be an honor to hear her story face-to-face.

Since the airing of the second season, Gypsy has given birth to her daughter Aurora and is keeping her off social media, a choice she had made before she was born. There have been no updates as to when Ken and Gypsy will tie the knot, as Gypsy is not ready to rush into another marriage, according to E!News. Her divorce from Ryan Anderson was settled and finalized back in October.

I am excited to see where this next stage in life takes Gypsy in the coming episodes.

To read more about Gypsy’s story, check out her memoir My Time to Stand, released last year.