Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more!
Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Former Boyfriend Nick Godejohn Opens Up About His Childhood
Nicholas Godejohn, convicted of murder in the fatal stabbing of Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard, says he was lonely and isolated as a child.
Once thought of as a sick girl, it was eventually revealed that Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s mother just pretended she was. Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard forced young Gypsy to use a wheelchair, endure multiple surgeries and consume unneeded medications — a condition formerly referred to as Munchausen by proxy, and now known as factitious disorder imposed on another.
The scam, which allowed Dee Dee to receive financial donations and free trips, came to a homicidal halt when she was stabbed to death by Gypsy’s online boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn in 2015 upon Gypsy’s request. Godejohn was sentenced in February 2019 to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder. Gypsy Rose, meanwhile, was sentenced in 2016 to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder for her role in the attack. She was let out early on parole on December 28, 2023.
RELATED: Gypsy Rose Blanchard Blasts Her Husband's Haters, Says He's "Rocking My World Every Night"
Godejohn initially remained quiet after his arrest and conviction. He didn't give his side of the story at the time and only his recent history up until the murder trickled into the spotlight, such as his 2013 arrest at a McDonald's after he was allegedly caught masturbating for a whopping nine hours while watching porn, according to Patch in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Customers complained that he was fondling himself during the lengthy porn-watching session, although Godejohn claimed he was just scratching himself.
But there was of course much more to his story than that.
Godejohn broke his silence about his past and the loneliness he suffered leading up to the murder in Killer Couples: Gypsy Rose & Nick: A Love to Kill For.
Were Nicholas Godejohn's parents divorced?
Godejohn revealed on Killer Couples that his parents split up when he was around 3 or 4. “From that time forward, I was different from everyone else,” he said. His mother raised him from the divorce until the age of 15.
Does Nicholas Godejohn have autism?
Godejohn was diagnosed with autism in grade school, according to his father Bobby Godejohn.
“From the very first day when I was in kindergarten all the way to 12th grade, every single one of those days I was in special education,” Nick said. He went on to say “the weird thing, though, is that even though I was in special education throughout that entire time, I was considered one of the smartest children in the classrooms that I was in, just because of my high-functioning autism, Asperger syndrome.”
Psychologist Kent Franks testified at a 2016 hearing that Godejohn has more the mind of a child than an adult, according to a 2016 report by KY3 in Springfield, Missouri. The psychologist said that after two mental evaluations on Godejohn, he determined that the killer is on the autism spectrum with an IQ of 82 and the functionality equivalent to that of a 10-year-old.
Nicholas Godejohn described his extreme loneliness growing up
“What was life like for me before I met Gypsy? I actually was basically alone,” Godejohn told the producers of Killer Couples.
His childhood was lonely.
“It was hard for him to make friends,” his dad said on Killer Couples. “He was always by himself, pretty much grew up by himself. He had friends, not many. One or two but mainly family, we’re his friends.”
But, perhaps, his young adulthood was even more isolating.
Godejohn said he was interested in computers and wanted to become a computer repairman. But, it didn’t pan out.
“I tried to get into computer programming but they weren’t too happy with how long I was taking to grasp it all,” he said. “Ever since then I wasn’t able to really pursue any other paths of any type of careers.”
Godejohn became further isolated.
“I kept to myself,” he said. “The reason I kept to myself is because I didn’t really have the social skills due to my mental disability.”
Nicholas Godejohn went online to form social connections
He found comfort and connection online.
“Nick, he was lonely," Bobby Godejohn said of his son. “He loved the internet because he was able to connect with people. He could be himself on the internet.”
Nick referred to himself as a recluse before he met Gypsy.
Leigh Moody, an anchor for KSPR, told Killer Couples that Godejohn was “going nowhere” in his life before he found Gypsy on a Christian dating site.
"He wasn't in school,” she said. “He wasn't working. his only outlet was who he found online and who he found was Gypsy."
Dr. Marc Feldman, a psychiatrist featured on Killer Couples, told Oxygen digital correspondent Stephanie Gomulka that the internet "gives a lot of people, not just Nick and not just people with autism or other mental health issues, an opportunity to expand and play with who they are and Gypsy did that."
In Nick and Gypsy’s case, their connection became deadly.
Originally published Jul 13, 2019.
