Ken Urker, the father of Gypsy-Rose Blanchard’s daughter who also appeared on Lifetime’s Gypsy Rose: Life After Lockup, died on his birthday Thursday. He was 34.
The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office confirmed Urker died at a home in Raceland, Louisiana. “We responded to a residence at 107 Double H Drive, Lot 4, in Raceland today after receiving a call at 6:15 p.m. Kenan Urker, 34, was found dead upon arrival. At this time, we are continuing the death investigation,” authorities wrote in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
His cause of death wasn’t immediately available.
“Ken was an amazing father and a man who was deeply loved. He will forever be my soulmate and my red string, a connection that time, distance, and even death can never erase,” Blanchard told People late Thursday night. “Above all, Ken loved our daughter, Aurora. She is a beautiful reflection of his enduring spirit, and through her, a part of him will always remain with us.”
“There are no words that can express the depth of this loss. I ask for privacy and compassion for our daughter, our families, and everyone grieving Ken during this incredibly painful time,” she continued. “He will be deeply missed, forever loved, and never forgotten.”
Blanchard and Urker first met when the latter started writing her letters in 2017 while she was in prison. Before being released in 2023, Blanchard served seven to eight years in prison for her role in the second-degree murder of her mother, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard.
“When I wrote her the first time, it wasn’t because I was like looking for a girlfriend. I can’t tell you what I was thinking at the time at the age of 24, but I just wanted to let her know that you have support out here,” Urker previously shared on season one of Life After Lockup in 2024. “But she would get, you know, hundreds of those kinds of same letters all the time, so I don’t know why she wrote me back, but I’m happy she did.” The series follows Blanchard as she experiences life as a free woman, reconnecting with friends and family following her prison sentence
After growing close through letters and phone calls, Urker proposed to Blanchard during a prison visit in 2018. However, they split the following year.
A few years later, Blanchard married Ryan Anderson in 2022 while she was still incarcerated. They stayed together for a short time following her release, with Anderson also appearing on Life After Lockup, but they separated in 2024.
Blanchard and Urker quickly reunited, later welcoming their daughter, Aurora Raina Urker, in December 2024.
Blanchard previously opened up to People about parenthood, saying, “It’s one of those heart-touching moments because it’s like, this is new for the both of us, but also Ken was young when we met, and so it’s adorable and really heartwarming to see him grow and mature through this process.”
It’s unclear if Blanchard and Urker were still together at the time of his death.
Oct. 1, 9:17 p.m. Updated with Gypsy-Rose Blanchard’s statement given to People.
