Gypsy Rose Blanchard shocked the world when she announced that she was “unexpectedly” pregnant with her first child with boyfriend and ex-fiancé Ken Urker. The 32-year-old, who was released from prison last year after being convicted for her involvement in the 2015 killing of her abusive mom Dee Dee, is in the midst of divorcing her husband Ryan Anderson. But a Louisiana law — and society’s lack of trust in women — could tie the estranged couple together for even longer.
Blanchard filed for divorce at the end of March and reportedly rekindled her romance with Urker the next month, saying that she had her period mid-April and then “made love with Ken and only him” until they ultimately conceived on May 4. About three weeks later, she received a positive pregnancy test. “KEN IS THE FATHER,” she insisted.
And yet … people aren’t totally convinced that the felon is telling the truth. Regardless of what the masses say, what currently matters is what Louisiana state law says. According to the legislation, if a mom is married to someone when the child was conceived, or has been divorced for less than 300 days at the time of the birth, then that man — whether they be happily married (affairs happen!) or estranged — is presumed to be the father.
Do you get where this is going? Anderson’s name will go on the birth certificate unless Urker establishes paternity, per TMZ. Without the divorce finalized, and with the three hundred-day stipulation, Anderson — who Blanchard married while in prison — will be considered the father.
Sources close to Blanchard told TMZ that the mother-to-be knows about the law and believes speeding up the divorce will help matters and knows a DNA test will be necessary.
According to the American Pregnancy Association, non-invasive prenatal paternity tests can be performed as early as the 7th week of pregnancy. Should Blanchard decide to wait to do the testing after her baby is born, she will likely have to go through the court system to have her child’s birth certificate changed.
Blanchard, who was a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, got emotional when she announced her pregnancy.
“All of the things that I wished I could have had when I was little …” she said. “All of the things that I wanted in a mother, I want to give to this baby … I just want to be a good mother for my child. I want to be everything my mother wasn’t.”
These celebrities are expecting babies in 2024!
