Ken Urker, the former fiancé and longtime partner of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, has died suddenly at the age of 34.
Urker was found unresponsive inside a Louisiana home on Thursday, October 1 — his birthday.
According to the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to a residence in Raceland at around 6:15 p.m., where Urker was found “dead upon arrival.”
His cause of death has not been revealed, and authorities said the death investigation is ongoing.
According to TMZ, Gypsy Rose had sent Ken a message wishing him a happy birthday but never received a response. He was later found by Gypsy’s brother, Dylan, and his wife after they arrived at the home.
Ken’s sister, Autumn, also went live on TikTok that evening and confirmed his death.
She shared that the last words Ken ever said to her were:
“I love you.”
Gypsy Rose Blanchard speaks out
In an exclusive statement to People, Blanchard says Urker died from an overdose.
“I don’t know if it was intentional or not,” she tells People. “He was not in a good state of mind lately.”
According to Blanchard, Urker died in his bed at his home in Raceland, Louisiana.
The loss has left her struggling to process what happened.
“I’m in disbelief. I can’t think,” she says. “I’ve screamed until my throat burns.”
The news is especially heartbreaking because Ken and Gypsy had shared a complicated but deeply personal history that stretched back nearly a decade.
The two first connected while Gypsy was still behind bars.
After watching the HBO documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest, Ken wrote her a letter of support in 2017.
Gypsy later recalled:
“He wrote me a letter of support after watching the HBO documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest back in 2017. I wrote him back and pretty soon we just started writing on a weekly basis. We became fast friends.”
Their friendship eventually became a romantic relationship.
“I talked to him like I had known him my whole life and vice versa,” Gypsy said.
Ken proposed in 2018, but the couple called off their engagement the following year.
Their lives would continue in different directions for several years.
Gypsy married Ryan Anderson while she was still incarcerated, but they eventually separated after her release from prison in December 2023.
Then, in 2024, Gypsy and Ken found their way back to each other.
Looking back on their reunion, Ken said:
“The very first weekend of April [2024] is when I came to visit her for the first time after she had gotten out. We spent that weekend together and had an incredible time.”
Not long afterward, they discovered they were going to become parents.
In December 2024, they welcomed their daughter, Aurora Raina Urker.
For Ken, becoming a father was a completely new chapter.
Gypsy once described watching him adjust to fatherhood as “adorable” and “really heartwarming,” saying it was wonderful to see him grow into the role.
She also said:
“I’ve learned that he is a lot more patient than I gave him credit for.”
Their relationship had gone through many twists and turns, but they had ultimately found their way back to each other and built a family together.
Ken had also appeared alongside Gypsy on Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up as their relationship and new life after prison unfolded in the public eye.
Gypsy’s own story had brought worldwide attention to the couple.
She was convicted of second-degree murder after pleading guilty to her role in the 2015 killing of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Gypsy had spent much of her childhood being subjected to unnecessary medical treatments after her mother falsely claimed that she suffered from numerous illnesses.
While incarcerated, Gypsy began an online relationship with Nicholas Godejohn. The two eventually plotted Dee Dee’s murder, and Godejohn fatally stabbed her in June 2015.
Godejohn was later convicted of first-degree murder and armed criminal action and sentenced to life in prison without parole, plus 25 years.
Gypsy was released from prison in December 2023.
But now, another heartbreaking chapter has been added to her story.
Ken was only 34.
He leaves behind his daughter, Aurora, and a family now grieving a loss that came completely unexpectedly.
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