Gypsy Rose Blanchard is speaking out after her fiancé Ken Urker was found dead on his 34th birthday.
The 33-year-old, who shares infant daughter Aurora with Urker, said she was “in disbelief” over the loss. “I can’t think. I’ve screamed until my throat burns,” she said in her statement to the magazine.
Blanchard and Urker had quietly ended their relationship about a month before his death, though they had been living apart for roughly two months, a source close to the pair said Friday. The insider said the split was “amicable” and “nothing nasty,” describing it instead as “just a mutual agreement.”
The couple had been attempting to reconcile. “They were trying to work it out for a bit,” the source said, but ultimately could not overcome the strain of Urker’s deteriorating mental health. “She missed him. She wanted him back, obviously, and he just wasn’t in the right frame of mind,” the source explained. “His mentality of mental health wasn’t good for the past few months.”
Those close to Urker had hoped professional intervention might help. “We all just wanted him to kind of get better and see if he would get some therapy,” the source continued. “And she was just hoping that would be the outcome.”
Despite the separation, Blanchard and Urker maintained regular contact and an amicable co-parenting arrangement for Aurora, born in December 2024. The source said Blanchard cared for the baby on weekdays while Urker had her every weekend. “It was just totally normal, nothing ever weird about it,” the source said, calling Urker the “best” father.
Their communication remained frequent. “They were in touch every few days checking in on Aurora, ’cause she had her all the time, and they’d Facetime,” the source said. The insider last spoke with Urker about two weeks before his death to check on his wellbeing during the difficult period. “I checked in on him two weeks ago, just saying, ‘Hey, just checking in. ‘Cause I know it’s a hard time for both of you.’ And he was like, ‘I love you to bits. I’m surviving right now. But thanks for checking in,'” the source recounted.
Urker was found dead Thursday at his Louisiana home, the Lafourche Parish Public Information Officer confirmed in a statement. He was “found dead upon arrival,” the officer said. Authorities are “continuing the death investigation” but have “found no evidence of foul play,” according to the statement. A police report indicated drug paraphernalia and a gun were present at the scene.
Blanchard attributed his death to a suspected overdose. In her statement, she honored Urker as “an amazing father and a man who was deeply loved,” She added: “He will forever be my soulmate and my red string, a connection that time, distance, and even death can never erase.”
Blanchard also highlighted the toll of public harassment on Urker’s wellbeing. “Ken endured an unimaginable level of public scrutiny and relentless cyberbullying across social media platforms, including TikTok and Reddit,” she said. “The cruelty directed toward him was something no human being should have to endure.”
Blanchard and Urker’s relationship had drawn significant public attention since they reconnected following her release from prison in December 2023 after serving time for her role in her mother’s murder. The pair, who had been engaged during her incarceration, rekindled their romance and welcomed daughter Aurora in late 2024.
The Lafourche Parish death investigation remains ongoing.