Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s ex-husband Ryan Anderson expressed his “shock” after learning of the death of his former partner, Ken Urker.
Urker died of a suspected overdose at his Louisiana home on Thursday, his 34th birthday. According to a police report obtained by Page Six, he was found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia and a gun at the time of his death.
“At first I didn’t believe it. I didn’t believe it at all. My initial thought was shock, like, ‘Hmm, how did this happen?'” Anderson Told “The Sarah Fraser Show” Friday.
Anderson, 40, said his thoughts immediately turned to Blanchard and Aurora, their 1-year-old daughter, Urker.
“My immediate thought was, ‘How’s Gypsy?’ My immediate thought was, ‘How is she?’ And what about their child?” he added.
Blanchard and Anderson married in June 2022, while she was serving a sentence for her role in the 2015 murder of her mother Claudine “Dee Dee” Blanchard.
They announced their split in March 2024 after Blanchard was released from prison in December 2023.
Weeks later, Blanchard confirmed her relationship with Urker, whom she first met while he was in prison in 2017. They got engaged in October 2018 but later separated.
Blanchard and Urker rekindled the romance in early 2024 welcomed Aurora in December of the same year.
Anderson said that he and Urker “never really saw eye to eye”, although they never met face to face.
He said, “We never met in person, but we had conversations on the phone and we got text messages. We’ve had conversations and they’ve never been nice.”
“But you still hate to hear that someone passed away.”
Anderson revealed that he has not spoken to Blanchard in almost a year. After hearing the news he reached out to her father, Rod Blanchard.
“I said, ‘Hey, man, I’m hearing this news. If it’s true, tell Gypsy I’m sorry. Tell her I’m here for her if she needs me,'” he said.
“I was always the one who could make her laugh or console her when she was sad.”
Anderson said his “main concern is Aurora and Gypsy” and that he would stay with them as a friend if Blanchard contacted them.
“I don’t know if she’ll do it or not,” he said, “but if she does, I’ll be there for her as strictly as I’ve always been there for her.”
Page Six previously reported that Blanchard and Urker quietly ended their relationship about a month before his death.
Blanchard claimed in a statement Friday that Urker died of a suspected overdose and said she was “in disbelief.”
“I couldn’t think. I screamed until my throat burned,” she said. “Ken was a wonderful father and a man who was deeply loved. He will always be my soul mate and my red string, a bond that time, distance and even death can never erase.”
He also pointed to Urker’s struggle with negative comments targeted at him online.
“Kane faced unimaginable levels of public scrutiny and persistent cyberbullying on social media platforms, including TikTok and Reddit,” he said. “The cruelty inflicted upon him was something that no human being should have to endure.”
If you or someone you love is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call SAMHSA’s national helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).